‘Consequences for actions’: 23-year-old arrested for check fraud after Better Call Behnken investigation

Shannon Behnken
·2 min read
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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Keelee Jaydan Watkins has been arrested by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office on charges related to altering and cashing a Temple Terrace woman’s forged check.

That one forged check led to a Better Call Behnken investigation about something much larger, something that is still unraveling.

Phyllis Faber, a hairstylist in Temple Terrace was the first to call Consumer Investigator Shannon Behnken for help in this case. She said she’s happy to hear of the arrest.

“I am more than overjoyed. I really thought it was going to take a lot longer than it did,” Faber said. “And mostly, I want to see consequences for actions. Because in our society today, I feel it’s slipping the wrong way.”

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Faber paid a bill by check in January for pool services to Pinch A Penny. It was altered and cashed. The culprit changed the $170 to $970.

“This is a felony,” Faber said. “This is huge. She affected an awful lot of people.”

By the time Faber called Better Call Behnken, Temple Terrace police had closed their case, even though they said they had Keelee on video cashing the check. That’s because the bank is out of their jurisdiction, in Pinellas County.

It was weeks after our story aired that the Temple Terrace PD referred the case to the sheriff’s office, and now, seven weeks after my first story about the check—that was stolen a month before that—Keelee has been arrested and charged with grand theft, forging a check and fraudulent use of personal identification.

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Our Better Call Behnken investigation into Faber’s stolen check led to more stories revolving around Keelee, including the discovery that the Largo Police Department seized Keelee’s car in January. It was packed with hundreds of personal documents belonging to individuals and businesses, check paper, a printer, a metal grinder, IDs, bank cards and checks.

And now, Janice Taylor of Tampa, has stepped forward to say she too is a victim.

Her check to the same Pinch A Penny was stolen, altered and cashed. Someone also added a “9” to the amount. The check was also cashed in the name of Keelee Jayden Watkins.

The Pinellas Park Police Department confirmed it was investigating that case.

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