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An investigation into the incident began in Westport in June 2021 after a resident reported that an unknown person has used his personal information to write more than $38,000 in checks.
The checks were deposited into a Citibank account which led detectives to question a man identified as Eldrege Christmas as a suspect, said Lt. David Wolf, of the Westport Police.
As a result, a search warrant to examine Christmas’s cell phone was obtained. Additional evidence tying him to the crime was obtained and he was arrested on Monday, June 6, Wolf said.
During the search of Christmas’s cell phone, it was determined that another person was involved in this scheme to manufacture and deposit fraudulent checks, he added.
The second suspect was identified as Tynishia Johnson. age 41, of Hamden, in New Haven County, police said.
The search of the phone reportedly showed that Christmas and Johnson communicated on multiple occasions about the details of the crime, Wolf said.
When the detective contacted Johnson, she denied any involvement and said she was in fact a victim of identity theft herself. Based on the investigation, a warrant for her arrest was completed and signed by a Superior Court judge, he said.
Johnson was arrested on Wednesday, July 20 by members of the Wallingford Police Department and turned over to Westport officers.
She was charged with:
- Identity theft
- Trafficking in person identifying information
- Unlawful possession of personal information
- Conspiracy to commit identity theft
- Conspiracy to traffic in personal information
Johnson was held on a $150,000 bond.
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