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Athens police seek woman impersonating others to cash checks
Police in Athens-Clarke County are searching for a woman who has been impersonating several women as she cashes fake checks. Those checks and identities were stolen during car break-ins. She has been hitting banks across metro Atlanta, police said.
CLARKE COUNTY, Ga. - Athens-Clark County Police are looking for someone who has been going around the state cashing stolen checks. Police say she's already gotten away with tens of thousands of dollars.
Investigators say it all started last week when purses were stolen from cars at Southeast Clarke Park.
"Windows were broken and from several vehicles, purses were taken," said Athens-Clark County Police Det. Nathaniel Franco.
Det. Franco says with a stolen checkbook from one car and a stolen ID from another car, a woman has been able to write almost a dozen checks and cash them.
"They were all around $36,000," said Det. Franco.
Police say she pulled off the forgeries at banks in Buford, Dacula, and Norcross on Feb. 2. The next day she cashed in at banks in Kennesaw, Woodstock, two banks in Douglasville, Conyers, and Covington.
"In two days' work they made around $33,000," said Det. Franco.
Police say typically a group of people smash and steal from cars, then find someone in their network who looks similar to someone on a stolen ID.
Police say the woman cashing the forged checks is using the ID of a woman named Laurie Tolbert.
Tolbert was at the park with her granddaughter that day when she says someone swiped her purse.
She says after seeing a photo of the woman police are looking for, she can see a resemblance.
"I could see how she could pass for me. I feel like I don't look like my driver's license anymore but the picture they have I could see how she could pass for me," said Tolbert.
Tolbert knows police are working hard to find the woman.
"I've driven to about six or seven banks already to collect the original checks, to process them for fingerprints and talk to tellers to get more information," said Det. Franco.
Now Tolbert hopes she's caught before she tries to forge more checks.
"Just really scared me to think that somebody is out there impersonating me," said Tolbert.
Police say the woman has been seen on bank surveillance driving a dark-colored Subaru SUV, possibly a rental. It has a tag on it, but that tag was stolen off a car in Cobb County.
(Athens-Clarke County Police Department)
"I think it's possible someone knows her, and if they do, I want them to tell me who she is so, me and her can have a talk," said Det. Franco.
Anyone with information that could help police identify the suspect, please call detectives at 762-400-7100.
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