A New Jersey woman is facing charges in Bucks County after a police investigation into the misuse of a Middletown Township resident’s bank account.
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In late August, Middletown Township police took a report from a Levittown resident in the township that thousands of dollars in fraudulent withdrawals occurred from her bank account, according to court papers.
The resident told an investigator she believed her friend Pamela Lee McAstocker, 52, of Lawrence, New Jersey, had been taking her debit card without permission.
According to court papers filed this month, an investigator determined the resident’s bank account show $8,307.75 in fraudulent transactions across Lower Bucks County and Burlington, New Jersey. The transactions were at gas stations, convenience stores, Parx Casino, and a smoke shop. The businesses had ATMs and skills machine games.
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Police said they reviewed video surveillance from a smoke shop along East Lincoln Highway in Middletown Township and spotted McAstocker playing a video skills game and using the nearby ATM. The transactions were made with the resident’s debit card and totaled $202.
Security video from the Walgreens along New Falls Road was reviewed and McAstocker was seen purchasing $360.05 in gift cards using the Middletown Township resident’s debit card, police said.
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McAstocker spoke with an investigator via phone and reportedly stated she conducted “numerous transactions” with her friend’s debit card across Lower Bucks County, noting some money was used for gambling.
McAstocker told the investigator she would pay her friend back, police said.
It was unclear if she did pay her friend back, but police ended up filing charges in early December.
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McAstocker was preliminarily arraigned last Monday before District Judge Charles Jonas on charges of access device use to obtain or attain property/services, theft, receiving stolen property, and identity theft. She was released on $2,000 unsecured bail.
According to a court docket, McAstocker, who previously lived in Levittown, was out on bail as of Monday on $25,000 unsecured bail as she awaiting a January trial on a separate procure for self/other drug by fraud case.
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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.
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