Woman Arrested After Claiming Cops Stole $15K From Her: Fairfield PD

FAIRFIELD, CT — A 55-year-old Bridgeport woman was arrested by Fairfield police Thursday, after authorities said she fabricated a report of being ripped off for $15,000 by police officers.

Wilhelmina Ray was arrested several hours after the initial report, and was charged with the following:

• Interfering with Police
• Misuse of the 911 System
• Filing a False Police Report

She was released after posting a $5,000 bond, and is scheduled to appear in Bridgeport Superior Court on May 10.

The incident began at about 12:30 a.m. on Thursday when police received a 911 call "reporting that a female was found on Johnson Drive and was claiming to have been robbed of $15,000 in cash."

According to Fairfield Police Lt. Michael Paris, the "victim" told police that she was driving when two men, "operating an older model sedan type vehicle, activated flashing blue and red emergency lights pulled her over at the intersection of Johnson Drive and Chambers Street."

"She was then approached by one of the males, who identified himself as a police officer and was wearing a police badge around his neck," Paris said. "She then claimed that she was ordered out of her vehicle, handcuffed, and a search of her vehicle was conducted by the two 'officers.' She then claimed that she was unrestrained and told she was free to go. When she returned to her vehicle, she noticed that $15,000 in cash was missing, her iPhone was missing, and the key to her vehicle was missing."

As a result, officers canvassed the area looking for the suspect vehicle, an ambulance was called to the scene, and detectives spent hours investigating the incident, according to Paris.

Over time, police discovered that Ray "had fabricated the entire story and none of the events occurred" as she described.

"Police found video surveillance of the entire area and discovered that the events in fact did not occur," Paris said. "Ray actually placed the key to her vehicle in the bushes which was found by police."

Paris continued, "This is an example of great investigative work conducted by the Fairfield Police Detective Bureau along with the repercussions someone will face for misusing the 911 system and emergency resources."