A jewelry store in the Oxford Valley Mall has been hit by numerous cases of fraud in recent months, police said.
According to documents filed with two recent arrests, individuals have been stopping at the Kay Jewelers in the mall and using fake identification to open accounts in other people’s names. The fraudulently opened accounts then are used to rack up charges from jewelry purchases.
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Last Wednesday, Middletown police were called to the mall for reports of suspected fraudulent activity at Kay Jewelers, which led to two separate arrests.
The first arrest came after officers were called to Kay Jewelers around 3:10 p.m. when a woman – later identified as Zinara Tiana Watson, 27, of Philadelphia – attempted to open an account using a fake ID that was falling apart, police said.
Watson talked with a detective at the police station and said an unidentified man in Philadelphia gave her the fake ID and a social security card. She said the man advised her to buy the most expensive necklace after opening an account using the fake ID and social security card. He told the woman she would earn $250 for every $1,000 in jewelry purchased, police said.
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A few hours later, police were called back to the jewelry store for a similar case. A woman – later identified as Alexis Santana, 21, Yonkers, New York – who ran from the store after a Kay Jewelers’ employee said they needed further authorization after she presented a fake ID. Police tracked Santana to a clothing store and were unable to locate the fake ID, according to court papers.
Watson and Santana were charged with forgery, identify theft, tamper with records, and retail theft. They were arraigned and sent to the Bucks County Correctional Facility unable to post bail.
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Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
