A wallet stolen from a Wallingford woman’s car led to an identity theft spree in which police say several pricey cell phones and watches were bought, two credit cards were applied for, a bank account was fraudulently opened up in the victim’s name and an existing bank account was attempted to be taken over.
The suspect, identified Thursday as 22-year-old Audrey Bennett, with a last known address in Woodbury, faces two counts each of third-degree identity theft and criminal impersonation and a single count each of fifth-degree larceny and attempted sixth-degree larceny, according to the Wallingford Police Department.
Bennett has been released on a $21,000 bond and is expected to be arraigned in Meriden Superior Court on Monday.
According to Wallingford police, a local woman contacted authorities on Jan. 17 and reported a fraud complaint in which someone used her identity to open an AT&T account and buy a new iPhone 14. Officers discovered that the victim’s wallet had previously been stolen from her car while it was parked in her driveway.
On Jan. 30, someone tried to open two credit card accounts in the victim’s name with different credit card companies. Then on Feb. 13, police learned the suspect had opened a fraudulent bank account in the victim’s name and, that same day, tried to “take over” an existing bank account belonging to the victim. The suspect, police said, had identification with the victim’s information and matched her physical description. The suspect could not correctly answer the bank’s security questions and was not able to get a new debit card or withdraw funds, according to police.
On Feb. 21, Wallingford police said, the suspect bought two more new iPhones 14s using the victim’s identity at a T-Mobile store in Meriden.
Wallingford police also discovered that the suspect had bought two Bulova watches on Jan. 6 using the victim’s identity.
Police said they were able to identify Bennett as the suspect following a lengthy investigation.
