By Tiffany Williams –
A bank teller’s scrutiny of a $35,000 check led to three arrests and a criminal summons in Somerset after police say a woman tried to deposit a fraudulent check into an account opened just one day earlier.
Somerset police responded to Citizens Bank at 815 Grand Army Highway on October 28 after receiving a report of an attempted check fraud scheme. The investigation resulted in charges against four people.
According to police, the woman attempted to deposit the check into a newly opened Citizens Bank account. A teller noticed suspicious indicators during the transaction and contacted the business identified as the check’s issuer.
The business confirmed that the check, made payable to the woman using the company’s name, was fraudulent, police said.
Detectives in unmarked vehicles responded to the area while uniformed patrol officers positioned themselves in nearby business parking lots. Police said the deployment accounted for the possibility that other people involved in the alleged scheme could be waiting in vehicles away from the bank.
During surveillance, detectives saw the woman walking through the Super Stop & Shop parking lot before entering a gray 2002 Volvo.
Detectives and uniformed officers then coordinated their approach, positioning their vehicles around the Volvo to prevent it from leaving.
Police arrested Andre Cairo, 41, of Fall River; Stasha Medeiros, 27, of Swansea; and Rajheem Chardonnette, 32, of Fall River. A fourth person, whose identity was not provided, was criminally summoned for alleged involvement in the scheme.
All four were charged with attempting to commit a crime, uttering a false check and conspiracy.
The information released by police does not identify which person allegedly presented the check or describe the individual roles of the other people charged.
The teller’s call to the business provided a critical check on the attempted transaction: The company whose name appeared on the document confirmed it was fraudulent before police announced the arrests and charges.