Michael A. Turner, 45, 1116 Dill Ave., Linden, N.J., is behind bars in Kosciusko County on $20,000 cash bond. He was booked Saturday.
Turner is facing charges of forgery and fraud of a financial institution, class C felonies; theft and identity deception, class D felonies. The charges were filed on Aug. 13.
The affidavit of probable cause notes the crimes were committed in Pierceton.
Pierceton Police Officer Timothy Sammons spoke with a financial coordinator of a local business on June 5. That individual reported on May 23 unknown individuals had entered into the businesses computer system with alleged fraudulent emails from the CEO of the company, requesting the transfer of $14,973 to an account in Roselle, N.J.
The money was sent prior to discovering the computer system had been entered and the emails were fraudulent. The owner of the account reported he never gave anyone consent or permission to use his name or information.
Police obtained bank records from the location where money was sent, which indicated the account holder was a Michael A. Turner and April Turner. Records show the same day the money transferred to a savings account, $8,000 was transferred from Michael Turner’s savings account into his checking account.
The following day Turner wrote a check to himself in the amount of $8,000 and cashed the check. Police were able to obtain copies of the Turners driver’s licenses with photos used to open the savings account.
The investigation also uncovered on May 27, $2,000 was transferred again from Michael Turner’s savings account into his checking account and another check was written to himself, in the amount of $2,000. Similar transactions occurred on May 28 and 29, in the amounts of $500 and $4,000.
An ATM at Wood Avenue, Linden, N.J., was used to remove $200 on May 30, and another ATM in Delco Shopping Plaza, Avenel, N.J., was used on June 11, to withdraw $200. A surveillance video from the ATMs were compared to the driver’s license photograph of Turner.