Woman arrested at Westmoreland County bank in fraudulent check scheme

CBS News

7 days ago

A woman was arrested at the First National Bank in Murrysville for allegedly trying to steal money out of people's accounts, and police said she's been running a similar scheme across three states for some time.
Sixty-three-year-old Jennifer Folzenlogen of Cincinnati, Ohio, is now facing charges of forgery, theft and identity theft after police were called to the First National Bank along the William Penn Highway on July 8.
"A teller at First National Bank actually recognized Ms. Folzenlogen from previous bank surveillance photos and video," said detective Matthew Panigal of the Murrysville Police Department. "She had actually victimized the same bank back in April with the same teller working at the bank at that time."
Police said the fraud worked like this: Folzenlogen would get ahold of someone's bank information, have a fake ID printed as that person and then go to the bank claiming to be that person and withdraw money from their accounts.
Pennsylvania State Police began looking for Folzenlogen after she hit several First National Banks in Greensburg and Hempfield Township in the spring, and police now believe that she is responsible for stealing over $26,000 from personal accounts, just at First National Bank branches alone.
But that's not all.
"She is believed to be part of a larger theft ring throughout the Northeast that goes back to New York," Panigal said.
Not only is she allegedly part of a larger out-of-state crime ring, but Folzenlogen is suspected of similar criminal activity in Ohio and has multiple active felony arrest warrants out against her from the state of Indiana.
"Incidents like this, it is tough to protect yourself because they can steal the mail, they can steal your identity through public records sources," Panigal said. "So just keep an eye on your bank account, keep an eye on your credit."
Folzenlogen is currently being held here at the Westmoreland County Prison. Her bail is now set for $150,000.