CASPER — A 38-year-old woman from New York state who told police she is a crack cocaine addict and is potentially part of an organized fraud ring to take thousands of dollars from Wyoming banks, according to court documents.
She was in court this week after her Friday arrest trying to withdraw $8,400 using a line of credit from the ANB Bank in Casper.
The Casper Police Department reports that Christine Fitzpatrick, initially charged as “Jane Doe” because her identity couldn’t be confirmed, had earlier allegedly withdrawn $12,500 from a Buffalo ANB branch, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in her case.
CPD spokesperson Rebekah Ladd said Wednesday that the woman charged is “believed to be Christine Fitzpatrick.”
Fitzpatrick faces charges in Casper Circuit Court of conspiracy to commit forgery, conspiracy to commit theft, and possession of forged writing.
Her preliminary hearing on the charges is set for April 14, and the woman made her initial appearance in court on Monday.
The Bank Calls
Court records show that Casper police were called to the Casper ANB Bank in the 400 block of East 2nd Street at 4:30 p.m. on Friday for a report of a female attempting to commit fraud in the bank.
Bank officials told officers she had already committed fraud at the bank’s Buffalo branch earlier in the day.
The first officer responding found Fitzpatrick in an alley east of the bank and she initially refused to stop while walking toward a rented black Mitsubishi Mirage.
The vehicle immediately left the scene when the officer initiated her lights, a police affidavit states.
Ladd said Casper police put out a “be-on-the-lookout” bulletin for law enforcement, and officers in Laramie arrested two suspects who were in the vehicle on drug charges.
“The Casper Police Department remains the lead agency on this complex investigation and is working with multiple other agencies including the FBI to conduct a thorough investigation,” she said.
Two ‘Handlers’
Fitzpatrick was arrested and told police that she is a crack cocaine addict and was given two “handlers” by her drug dealer to withdraw money from banks in the state.
She had been in Wyoming for three days, she told police.
“(Casper officer) immediately recognized the M.O. (modus operandi) of the act to be that of organized bank fraud out of the northeast region of the United States most notably by the Felony Lane Gang,” the affidavit states.
A press release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of Alabama on Nov. 18, 2024, described the Felony Lane Gang as originating out of south Florida and sentenced seven of its members to prison for their roles in identity fraud and trying to cash counterfeited and forged checks.
Casper investigators report that Fitzpatrick carried two ID cards, one a fraudulent U.S. Army ID and another a fraudulent U.S. passport. Both had the same name on the IDs and displayed the suspect’s photo.
“(Fitzpatrick) stated that during her three days in Wyoming she committed several line-of-credit withdrawals from numerous banks in the state,” the affidavit states. “Two days prior to to this incident, she made three successful withdrawals in the amount of $8,400 at unknown banks.”
Fitzpatrick told police she had two unsuccessful attempts at other banks in the state on Thursday, but had been able to successfully withdraw $12,500 from the ANB Bank in Buffalo.
She had tried to withdraw $8,400 from the Casper ANB, the affidavit states.
The woman told police she did not know what cities she was in but knew she was in the state of Wyoming.
The woman told a Casper investigator that she knew the IDs she possessed were fraudulent.
Fitzpatrick gave investigators her name and a date of birth, but the investigator was unable to identify her positively using a New York database. She was fingerprinted in the quest for ensuring her identity, police report.
The woman told police that she had been instructed to leave all her identifying information in New York.
Fitzpatrick told an investigator she did not know what “her cut” of the successful withdrawals were to be, and that she would not know until going back to New York, the affidavit states.
Identity Theft In Washakie County
The phone seized from the suspect contained information on the name of person on the passport and U.S. Army ID.
The Washakie Sheriff’s Office contacted Casper Police about an identity theft case involving the name of the woman on the IDs carried by “Doe,” the affidavit states.
The Buffalo Police Department confirmed to a Casper investigator the theft of $12,500 from the Buffalo ANB Bank branch.
Both the conspiracy to commit forgery and theft charges carry potential penalties of 10 years in prison and $10,000 fines. The possession of forged writings is punishable by up to five years in prison and $5,000 fine.
Bond for the woman was set at $100,000 cash.
In February, four homeless people in Casper were involved in something similar to the charges against the New York woman.
The homeless were accused of trying to pass bogus checks all for the same amount — $5,339.10 — drawn on the account of a local business.
They told police they were approached by a Black couple in a white Bronco. They were then promised jobs with the reassurance that the jobs were “legitimate,” according to affidavits in the case.
Ladd said the cases do not appear to be linked.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
