‘It’s unbelievable’: Seized car contained checks, hundreds of personal documents belonging to victims
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Better Call Behnken investigation into an alleged check cooking scheme in Temple Terrace has been connected to an arrest in another crime in Pinellas County.
It involves hundreds of personal documents for individuals and business in 19 Florida municipalities and four other states. A printer, blank check paper and writing utensils were also found, according to Largo police records.
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This complicated tale started last month when Phyllis Faber called Better Call Behnken for help. The salon owner said she dropped off a check to pay a bill at a nearby Pinch A Penny in Temple Terrace and later discovered it had been stolen, altered and cashed by someone else.
The owner of the Pinch A Penny told Consumer Investigator Shannon Behnken that multiple customer checks were missing and two had been altered and cashed. In both cases, the name of the payee had been changed to a woman named Keelee.
Temple Terrace police said they have surveillance video of Keelee cashing the check but they have closed their case and are trying to transfer the case to a law enforcement agency in Pinellas County. No agency has claimed the investigation yet, though.
Better Call Behnken has discovered the same Keelee popped up on the radar of Largo police on Jan. 30. During an arrest involving a man who allegedly used a fraudulent ID to rent a property, police records show that man was found in car registered to the same Keelee.
Inside that car, records show, officers found hundreds of financial documents belonging to individuals and businesses. Also found, according to the report: check paper, a printer, erasers, various writing utensils, a driver’s license and bank cards belonging to numerous people.
also found, “a metal grinder with a green leafy reside and a Bentley car key.
Also confiscated was a loaded handgun and ammunition.
Documents trace back to victims in 19 Florida counties or cities, including 15 in the Tampa Bay area, touching Pinellas, Polk, Hillsborough and Pasco counties. In addition, documents for four other states, were included in the report, including California, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia.
Here are some of the highlights of hundreds of personal and business documents seized.
30 pieces of unopened personal mail
21 financial documents for a dentist office in temple terrace
27 personal checks
57 banking statements
10 checks for a wound care facility in Tampa
55 business checks for various citizens
Some victims are named in the report, including the chiropractic business of Dr. Pavloa Santamaria. Nearly two months after the documents were found, Better Call Behnken is the first to tell her.
“I am completely blindsided,” Santamaria said. “I have no idea what these documents could be and honestly, I’m very, very worried.”
She added she is disappointed that law enforcement didn’t notify her or return the stolen financial documents from her business that were found in this car.
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And here’s the kicker: Temple Terrace and Largo police have closed their investigations.
“I think that it’s a complete mess and I think that nobody really wants to get involved with it and everybody is just kind of passing the baton, like it’s not my problem,” Santamaria said. “And it’s very disheartening.”
According to public records, the personal documents are from 19 Florida counties or cities and four other states, including California, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia. The Largo Police Department says they issued what’s known as a Bolo report, alerting other law enforcement of the evidence seized.
But at this time, no agency appears to be investigating the larger check cooking scheme.
“That makes no sense to me,” Santamaria said. “It’s unbelievable.”
Better Call Behnken reached another doctor whose records were also found in the car and she also said she had not been notified of this theft and had no idea how her documents were obtained.
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