Woman fraudulently withdrew thousands of dollars from multiple bank accounts, state police say
By Shelley Bortz
Pennsylvania State Police are on the hunt for a woman they say fraudulently withdrew thousands of dollars from bank accounts at three different institutions in Greensburg.
State police are asking for your help identifying her after they say she stole $5,400 in a fraud scheme at three First National Banks.
“The license is the picture of the woman standing in front of them, but that’s actually not the consumer,” Trooper Steve Limani said.
Police say the unidentified woman walked into the First National Bank on Woodward Drive on April 7 around 1:15 p.m.
She deposited a $16 United States Postal Service money order, then withdrew $2,400 from a person’s account.
Roughly 20 minutes later, she popped up at the South Main Street Branch and again deposited a USPS money order for $16.
During the second time, she didn’t withdraw, but video surveillance shows her in the passenger seat of a white car.
The suspect struck one last time, about half an hour later, at the North Main Street location under the same scenario, this time withdrawing $3,000.
“We are concerned that there’s maybe a cartel that she’s working for or some type of other organization because this seems like this is a lot larger than one person,” Limani said.
Police are working closely with the U.S. Postal Service and federal agencies to see if the suspect is getting the victim’s bank information through the Postal Service and if this scam is happening in other parts of the country.
“My concern is, how are you getting your mail. I think as an investigator,” Limani said. “Because they also have simple information like who else is on the account, things you would normally see on a mailed bank statement.”
If you know the suspect or have seen her around the area, you are asked to contact the state police.
FDIC faker caught in sting after Davie woman falls prey to $203K bank scam, cops say
Chris Gothner, Digital Journalist
Tags: DavieOpens in new window, Broward CountyOpens in new window, CrimeOpens in new window
DAVIE, Fla. — A fraudster named Friday was arrested on Friday in Davie for his role in a six-figure bank scam targeting a woman who lives in the town, police said in court documents made public on Wednesday.
Miles Friday, 23, of Hollywood, remained in the Broward jail on three felony charges Wednesday. Authorities said he admitted to posing as representatives from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and several banks over the phone to carry out the con.
According to an arrest report from the Davie Police Department, the woman first got a phone call from someone claiming to be with U.S. Bank on Dec. 29, asking her whether she had authorized a supposed transaction at a GameStop store in Dallas.
After the woman said no, the caller claimed he was escalating the matter to the “fraud department,” police said. That’s when a man named “Connor Wilson” got on the line.
“Connor Wilson,” police said, was actually Friday.
Police said Friday began rattling off recent transactions the woman made, leading her to believe that the call was legitimate. They said he told her that he had information that someone was trying to conduct $45,000 and $55,000 wire transactions from her Fidelity Bank accounts.
According to the report, Friday convinced the woman that “he would be able to help her by having her conduct wire transfers for the same amounts” to federal government accounts, “so as soon as the FDIC investigated it, the money would be put back into her account.”
Police said he convinced the woman to wire $45,000 to a man in the Chicago suburb of Skokie, Illinois, “with the belief that the money would be back in her account in two days.”
Authorities said Friday then convinced the woman to wire $55,000 from her Fidelity account to her Truist Bank account and then withdraw the cash.
Police said Friday, posing as “Wilson,” stayed on the phone with the victim “for hours at a time” as she conducted each transaction “and told her she could not tell anyone at the bank what was going on because they might be involved in the original wire transfers (he) was supposedly investigating.”
“According to Wilson, their goal was to find these employees because FDIC will arrest them and ‘put them in jail,’” the report states. “(The victim) told Wilson she wanted to help because she hated people who broke the law.”
The report states that Friday even convinced the woman that her husband may be involved.
Authorities said he got the woman to visit multiple Truist branches in Broward County to make withdrawals, having her place the cash into Uber Courier vehicles ordered by Friday. All told, the report states the woman lost $203,000 before DPD got involved.
Police said they set up a sting in which Friday had the woman go to the Truist Bank branch at 13636 W. State Road 84 in Davie to withdraw $30,000. Instead of withdrawing cash, police said a detective was there to hand the victim a bag with fake money, which she would hand off to an Uber Courier.
Detectives followed the courier to the Palm Trace Landings Apartments off Davie Road and saw Friday flagging the courier down, police said, taking him into custody. According to the report, the woman later identified him as someone she had handed cash to.
Authorities said Friday admitted to posing as an FDIC representative and was “one of many people who would speak with the victim over the phone pretending to be representatives of different departments within the bank” and admitted to working with an associate named “Loafer.”
“Friday went on to say he has been doing this sort of scamming for six to seven months, but this was the first time he had been caught,” the report states. “Friday explained (that) out of every 10 ‘customers’ they call, nearly five fall for the scam.”
Instead of rolling up wads of cash over the weekend, Friday rolled into jail on three fraud charges.
As of Wednesday, he remained at the Broward Main Jail on a $90,000 bond. Records show he’ll have to prove that any bond he posts comes from a legitimate source before being let out.
Three arrested after defrauding banks in Henry, Houston counties, police say
by: Richard Everett
Posted: Jun 6, 2025 / 02:37 PM CDT
Updated: Jun 6, 2025 / 02:37 PM CDT
DOTHAN, Ala (WDHN) — Three suspects from Georgia have been arrested in connection with a fraud investigation that spanned two states and multiple counties.
On Wednesday, Abbeville Police were called to a bank in the city on reports that a fraudulent check was passed and bank employees had noticed “irregularities.”
Abbeville Police say officers responded and were able to identify the suspects, and after a short investigation, it was discovered that the suspects were connected to multiple fraud attempts at banks in Henry and Houston counties. It is believed the suspects targeted several banks over a short time, according to APD.
One suspect, 41-year-old Mare Laguerre, from Atlanta, was arrested in Abbeville and charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument in the third degree.
According to Abbeville Police, two other suspects, 38-year-old Tanicha Barlow, of Lithia Springs, Georgia, and 45-year-old Courtney Ayers, of Atlanta, were identified and arrested in Georgia on charges related to passing fraudulent checks.
Barlow and Ayers are awaiting extradition on charges of forgery.
The Abbeville Police Department wants to thank the Houston County Sheriff’s Office, the Georgia State Patrol, the Columbus Police Department (Georgia), the Russell County Sheriff’s Office (Alabama), the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office (Georgia), and the Headland Police Dispatch Center.
