Woman Arrested on Multiple Credit Card-Related Charges

Wayland police say that 32-year-old Jennifer Coppell amassed as much as $19,000 worth of fraudulent credit card transactions in about two months.

According to a police press release, police arrested Coppell on May 14, charging her with three counts of credit card fraud under $250 as well as two counts each of larceny by false pretense under $250, credit fraud over $250, uttering a false document, larceny over $250, identity fraud, and larceny under $250.

Detective Ruth Backman explained that credit card-related charges are often "tricky" because police must determine how to charge a person in relation to the transactions that were completed.

Backman said that, in this case, police believe Coppell, who had been living on Dudley Road in Wayland, not only used existing credit cards for fraudulent purchases, but also falsified documents in order to obtain new credit cards.

According to Backman, the victim, a family member of Coppell's, notified police after noticing some discrepancies in a credit card statement. Police advised that person to carefully monitor future statements and pull a credit report.

Backman said the investigation is ongoing, but it appears that Coppell used three existing credit cards to make purchases and applied for two additional credit cards under a false name. In addition, Backman said that police believe online information was compromised.

She explained that a person looking to commit credit card fraud could make simple online changes to electronic billing email addresses or contact phone numbers that would delay a person discovering the fraudulent charges.

"Be cautious of your information and check in," Backman said. "It's an alert ... for people to make sure they’re getting their bills.”