Log In


Reset Password
  • MENU
    State
    Sunday, May 26, 2024

    Pa. woman's check-cashing scheme allegedly hit Greenwich, New Canaan, Westport banks

    Greenwich — A woman who allegedly cashed a stolen check at a Greenwich bank in January is also facing felony charges in New Canaan and Westport for similar illegal activity, according to police.

    Anne Murphy, 28, whose last address was listed as Richmond Street in Philadelphia, is accused of going to a bank on Mason Street on Jan. 20 with a check stolen from a woman who parked her car at the New Canaan YMCA, according to the arrest warrant application.

    She reportedly drove away with $2,480 in illicit proceeds from that transaction, according to police.

    Murphy was arrested Aug. 10 and charged in Greenwich with third-degree larceny and second-degree identity theft, felonies, and third-degree forgery, a misdemeanor.

    Greenwich police worked with other law enforcement agencies around the state to track Murphy's bank activity with two other alleged accomplices, a man and a woman, driving a Dodge Durango and a Mitsubishi Outlander.

    The Durango was fitted with plates that had been reported stolen in New Canaan. Police said Murphy and the other woman, who had recently been living in a homeless shelter in Philadelphia, wore wigs "to help match other people's identities."

    According to the affidavit, Murphy has been "cashing stolen checks throughout the state of Connecticut," and she was being investigated in connection with bank fraud in a total of 13 different jurisdictions in the state. Police say $9,945 was alleged to have been taken from local banks in January, including the Greenwich bank.

    Police said the total also includes $2,940 Murphy allegedly helped take from First County Bank in Westport in April. She faces charges of conspiracy to commit larceny in the third degree and forgery charges in Westport. Murphy faces those same charges in New Canaan, after allegedly attempting to cash a stolen check there in April, but that attempt was unsuccessful.

    The remainder of the $9,945 was allegedly taken from other banks, according to police, but charges haven't been issued yet.

    Murphy had also obtained checks and credit cards after breaking into a car in Bethel and taking a purse, police said.

    Police said Murphy has a criminal record in Philadelphia and was arrested in Cinnaminson, N.J., on the outskirts of Philadelphia, on charges of shoplifting and being a fugitive from justice.

    The alleged accomplices are still at large.

    Bail was set at $100,000 for the Greenwich charges. Bail was set at $25,000 in each case for the charges in New Canaan and Westport. She was being held in state custody as of Monday.

    Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.