A New York City woman is facing a felony theft charge after police say she tried cashing a bogus Dept. of the Treasury check at a Schuylkill County bank earlier this month.
On April 11, McAdoo Police Chief Anthony DiVirgilio says he was dispatched to First National Bank on N. Kennedy Dr. for a panic hold-up alarm. On his way to the bank, a second hold-up alarm was rung.
At the bank, DiVirgilio says an Hispanic woman originally identified as Carol Dionne was trying to leave. She was told she couldn’t go and DiVirgilio called for backup.
A bank teller told police that when she pulled up the account for the person supposedly known as Carole Dionne, it was flagged as being fraudulent.
A day prior, Dionne – whose real name is Lisa Murillo, 42, of New York City – opened an account at First National Bank in Shillington and deposited a purportedly fake US Dept. of the Treasury check made out for $20,665.
Murillo was taken into custody at this time and taken back to the McAdoo police station. It’s there that she revealed her true identity, police say.
In a statement to police, Murillo said a man identified as “Titi” gave her a fake ID, a Social Security number, and utility bills all under the pseudonym. She also got a cell phone.
After opening the account, Murillo said she withdrew $5,000 from the account and left the bank in Shillington. “Titi” then drove her home to New York.
On the morning of the 11th, “Titi” picked up Murillo and they drove to the First National Bank location in Tannersville, where she was able to withdraw $5,000 more. From there, they went to the FNB branch in Hazleton.
The teller at the Hazleton branch had Murillo write down her Social Security number and she told police that she panicked and wrote the wrong number and was denied access to the money in her bogus account.
Murillo and “Titi” then went to the bank in McAdoo and tried taking out $7,000 but the account had already been flagged. The teller reportedly told Murillo that she didn’t have that much cash in her drawer as a means of stalling until police could be summoned. Murillo then tried to withdraw $5,000.
The teller told police that as this was happening, Murillo was on the phone speaking in Spanish and was overheard saying, “They got me and won’t let me go.”
Murillo was arraigned on the evening of April 11 before District Magistrate Judge David Plachko and has been charged with attempted theft, a third-degree felony. Plachko set bail at $100,000 cash, which hasn’t been posted. Murillo remains in Schuylkill County Prison pending a preliminary hearing scheduled for April 23 before Judge Edward Tarantelli.
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