Man Charged with Using Fake ID, Credit Card in Alleged Bank Scam

A Bronx, N.Y. man was charged Wednesday with attempting to use a fake driver's license and credit card to take out money from another person's bank account, police said.  

An employee at TD Bank on the Post Road reported to police Wednesday afternoon that a man was trying to withdraw $3,900 from a customer's account; the teller suspected fraud, according to the report.

The employee gave responding officers a description of the suspect, who was still in the bank. The suspect provided a New Jersey driver's license and credit card bearing the name of the man whose account he had attempted to withdraw money from, according to the report.

Officers escorted the man out of the bank and asked him to tell them about the checking account's previous activity. The suspect could not answer and would not give police his real name, at which point he was warned that he was interfering with the investigation, Sgt. Sue Lussier said.

Police noticed the suspect's license looked like a fake and the state seal did not match up with a true New Jersey license seal. Officers also confirmed with Visa that the credit card the suspect produced was fraudulent.

Investigators contacted the man whose name was on the checking account and fraudulent IDs. The victim, a New Jersey resident, told police that no one should be taking money out of his account, according to the report.

Officers also looked up the victim's Department of Motor Vehicles information and found that the suspect did not match the victim's description.

The suspect, identified as Donell Brown, 34, was charged with criminal attempt to commit third-degree larceny, second-degree forgery, interfering with a police officer, two counts of criminal attempt to commit third-degree identity theft, possession of a fraudulent credit card, and criminal impersonation.

Brown was held in lieu of a $50,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 25.