Identity Thieves Plague Scarsdale Residents

Strange doings: A teacher's aide from the Fox Meadow School reported that a man was taking photos of the children at the school with his cell phone on 2/25. She asked him what he was doing and he said, "they look cute playing in the snow." The aides approached him and he drove away. Police searched the area but they were unable to find him.

A Copper Beach Lane man told police he received a phone call from someone who demanded he go to the bank, withdraw $4,600 and mail it to settle an alleged tax debt. The caller said he would provide the address after the money was withdrawn. The Scarsdale man asked questions and the caller got angry and threatened to call the FBI to arrest him if he didn't get the cash and mail it immediately. The Scarsdale man called his accountant who said his taxes were in order. Police called the number and the person who answered said, "IRS Department." When police asked for more info the person hung up. Police advised the Scarsdale man to have this number blocked.

Suspicious man: A Popham Road woman returned home at 8:30 pm on 2-28 and found a car with CT plates in her driveway with a man standing outside. She asked the man what he was doing there and he said he was "picking something up off the floor." He waited a few more minutes and then got into his car and drove away.

No shirt: At 10 pm on 3-1 a Carstensen Road man called police when a teenage boy, wearing no shirt, knocked at the door and asked for help. Police found some boys in the street and they admitted knocking on the door as a joke.

Identity thefts: Jasmin Acosta, age 24 of West 171st Street in New York was arrested on February 24 for identity theft and grand larceny after she cashed a fraudulent check for $4,200 from the account of an Axtell Road man. She admitted that she knew the check was fraudulent and said she made several "withdrawals and purchases with the funds." According to Lt. Thomas Altizio of the Scarsdale Police, "The checks that were deposited were fraudulent, and did not come from the victim's actual stock of checks. The victims personal identifying information (name, address, bank account number) were all used on checks that were created and then deposited into other accounts. How the individuals obtained the personal identifying information of the victim is something we always investigate, but it is extremely difficult to ascertain. The source could be a security compromise from within the bank itself, or the information could have been obtained by someone who at one point was in possession of one of the victim's checks. We are working with the Westchester County District Attorney's Office, Financial Crimes Division to try to determine the source of the fraud in all of our Identity Theft cases. In the meantime, if we can identify a person who possesses the personal identifying information of a Scarsdale resident, possess fraudulent checks or makes fraudulent transactions, we will make an arrest and then continue to investigate the source of the fraudulent documents. Identity Theft is a rapidly growing crime, and in just the first two months of this year, Detectives have already made 5 arrests for Identity Theft and Fraud." Acosta was booked and released and given a court appearance date of 2/26.

A Black Birch Lane man reported that a fraudulent company check was made out to him was cashed on February 2. The check was not printed by the company and the signature was fraudulent.

A Richelieu Road woman reported that someone opened a Best Buy credit card account in her maiden name without her permission and charged $3,393 in merchandise on the card. She was advised to call the credit bureaus.

Snowbanks continued to cause problems this week. A Tuckahoe woman, driving west on Heathcote Road at 5:30 pm on 2-26 in a Toyota jeep, collided with an ice bank, slid about 50 feet and then ran into a utility pole. No injuries were reported.

Parking: This driver wasn't going to let a snowbank prevent him from parking in Scarsdale. Undeterred by a massive pile of ice, the driver simply drove up the bank, tipping the car and leaving the backwheel off the ground. Nice!

Potholes: A portion of the road at Fox Meadow and Butler Roads sunk. Police placed cones around it. A large pothole was reported in front of 10 Heathcote Road on 2-25. Several potholes were reported on Ferncliff Road on February 25.

Missing: A Rock Creek Lane girl reported that her wallet was stolen from her backpack when she was at Scarsdale High School on February 27. The wallet contained her NYS driver's permit, a debit car and $40 cash.

Lunch delivery: Police got a call about a red bag left on Horseguard Lane at 8 am on 2-26. They looked inside and saw that it belonged to a girl who lived on the street and contained her lunch. Since no one was home at her house police took the bag to Fox Meadow School to give the girl her bag. However, there they found out the child attends Scarsdale Middle School and they brought her lunch bag to the main office at SMS to be given to the student.

Erratic driver: A policeman stopped the driver of a 2011 Honda at 6:30 pm on 2/24 after he saw that her headlights were not on. The 82 year-old driver said she was not aware that the lights were off and the policeman turned them on for her. As she started to leave, she turned the lights off, put her car in reverse and almost backed into the police cruiser. Police stopped her again and she admitted that she did not know whether the lights were on or off as she usually does not drive at night. Police followed her home to Hartsdale.

Animals: An Elm Road woman reported that a raccoon was in her garbage can on 2-26. Police found an opossum in the can and suggested that the woman leave the can on its side so that the animal could get out. They checked with the woman later in the day and the opossum was gone.

Police shot a sick raccoon on Cooper Road on the afternoon of 2-28. A dead skunk was removed from Popham Road on the morning of 3-2.

Sewage: An Old Lyme road woman reported that a sewer line backed up into her basement at noon on March 1. The Highway Department was called to address the issue.

Arrests: Police stopped a Bronx man on the afternoon of 2-27 after he drove through a stop sign on Walworth Avenue in his 2009 Mitsubishi. Police pulled the driver over and found that the registration for the car was suspended due to unpaid parking violations. The drive, Ralph Navarra was issued summons' for going through the stop sign and driving without a registration. The license plates were removed from the car and it was towed to the man's business in Hartsdale.

Ida Sword, age 47 of Elmsford was stopped by police on Weaver Street on March 2 when their scanner revealed that the car had a suspended registration for lack of insurance. The plates were removed from the car and it was towed to her home. She was given summons for driving without a license, registration or insurance.

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