Once again, fraudulent personal identification documents were used to try and fleece a victim in Hardy County.
In the past, the Hardy County Sheriff’s Department, along with the West Virginia State Police, have intervened to disrupt property theft schemes. Last month, a Grant County resident had a classic car stolen by individuals with false documents.
On July 22, three New York State residents allegedly endeavored to use false identification documents to gain account information from the Capon Valley Bank in Moorefield. Media outlets must use the term “allegedly” before trial due to legal presumption of innocence, regardless of the facts of the case.
Flag for desk verification of official agency name; use one consistent form throughout, the Moorefield Police Department, and Hardy County 911 collaborated on the quick action.
According to a Sheriff’s Department release, one of the perpetrators after arrest explained that “individuals had created counterfeit passports and financial cards using his photograph with false identities and instructed him to enter banks to obtain account information.”
In the property scam and similar false identification schemes across the United States, often foreign “masterminds” engage US citizens as patsies to use these fake papers to steal or obtain property.
Capon Valley Bank Branch Manager Drake Baker notified law enforcement when one of the suspects “entered the bank claiming to be a deceased account holder” and then “allegedly presented fraudulent identification and attempted to obtain account information.”
“When confronted by bank staff,” read the release, “the suspect abandoned the documents he had presented and quickly exited the bank.” Hardy County Master Deputy McCausley tracked down the vehicle as it headed eastbound on Corridor H and made a traffic stop near Pinnacle Road. West Virginia Department of Transportation Police and Hardy County deputies jointly interviewed suspects, searched the vehicle, and conducted an investigation.
Law enforcement could conduct a search without a warrant because an odor of marijuana provided proper probable cause under the law. Deputies and officers found marijuana and related paraphernalia, but also “multiple cellular telephones, a notebook containing personal identifying information and (evidence of practicing writing signatures) and additional evidence related to the identity theft investigation.
A number of documents containing different identification information, but bearing Ascencio’s face, were found hidden in different parts of the vehicle. A number of documents containing different identification information, but Ascencio’s face, were found hidden in different parts of the vehicle.
In the Hardy County Sheriff’s Department investigation into property theft schemes, investigators found that fraudulent identification often contained true details that could be found online, but invented characteristics in other ways.
Forensics later turned up cocaine and fentanyl, which led to trafficking controlled substances across state lines charges in addition to those related to the activity at the bank.
The release named McCausley, Officer Vesch of WVDOT Police, Captain Short, and Deputy Riggs from the Hardy County Sheriff’s Department, as well as Moorefield Police Department officers, as critical in cooperating to conduct the arrest and also the investigation.
Jaylan Kennedy, Steven Williams, and Jack Ascencio of New York State were all arrested. Ascencio also faces an extraditable warrant to New Jersey. He provided important information during the investigation after being read his legal rights under arrest.
Start the second paragraph of the continued quotation with an opening quotation mark: “We appreciate the dedication… to the Hardy County Sheriff’s Office, the Moorefield Police Department, and the West Virginia Department of Transportation Police for their outstanding professionalism, swift response, and teamwork during a recent investigation involving our Moorefield branch.
We appreciate the dedication of these agencies and the strong partnerships that help protect our customers, our employees, and our community. Thank you for your continued commitment to keeping Hardy County safe.”
