CMUPD responds to five fraud cases in same week
Central Michigan University Police Department officers have responded to one report of criminal sexual conduct and five reports of fraud over the past week.
Two of the five reports of fraud were called in from the P.O.D. Market convenience store in Kesseler Hall in the Towers Complex. The report of criminal sexual conduct reportedly happened in December 2018, and a suspect has already been identified.
- On March 19, offers responded to a call about forgery. The CMU Bookstore reported that a cashier had received a counterfeit $20 bill on March 18. The bill was confirmed to be counterfeit by officers. Since there wasn't any video surveillance, the case was closed.
- On March 19, officers received a call about retail fraud. The P.O.D. Market in Kesseler Hall reported a bottled drink was stolen from the store around two days before. Officers made contact with the 18-year-old female and she admitted that she stole an iced tea. The incident was transferred to the Office of Student Conduct.
- On March 21, another report of fraud was made. This time, a 25-year-old male was scammed. He found fraudulent activity on his bank account after being contacted by an someone who claimed to be from a bank. The victim offered his bank information after being asked if he wanted to receive free grant money. Soon after, there was $1,000 missing from his account. Police traced the phone number back to someone in another state. “We say that if it’s too good to be true, then it probably is. You have to be careful,” said CMUPD Lt. Cameron Wassman.
- On March 21, another complaint of retail fraud was called in. An item had been stolen from the POD in Kesseler Hall in the Towers Residence Hall. The suspect was not identified.
- On March 21, multiple offices in Warriner Hall reported a suspicious man dropping off odd objects around the building, but wasn’t issuing any threats. The suspect was identified through family members who confirmed that the 35-year-old male suspect had mental health problems. Police are still investigating.
- On March 21, a third-degree criminal sexual conduct case was called in. The incident was reported to have happened during the first week of December 2018 in Cobb Hall. The case is still under investigation. The suspect has been identified, but Wassman said that sometimes these cases take time to get through.
- On March 23, the fifth report of fraud was called in. A 19-year-old female reported credit card fraud after receiving an email from a “mystery shopper." The police report said that a check for approximately $3,000 was deposited into her account and she was told to purchase Apple iTunes gift cards that nearly equaled that amount. After purchasing the cards, the bank notified her that the check didn’t clear. It’s unknown if she got her money back or not. The email was tracked to a location in a different state and police are still working on the case.
- At 2 a.m. on March 24, a patrolling officer arrested a drunk driver near the intersection of Preston St. and East Campus St. The 24-year-old male ran the flashing red light of the intersection and was pulled over and arrested.
- At 5:45 p.m. on March 24, an individual called CMUPD after witnessing a few intoxicated people getting into a car in the parking lot of the disc golf field on S. University Park Drive. The vehicle crossed the center line while driving and police pulled the car over. The 33-year-old male driver was arrested for drunk driving.
