New York Man Arrested on Forgery, ID Fraud Charges At TD Bank

CONCORD, NH — A man from New York was arrested on felony charges after being accused of attempting to open a bank account using multiple, different identifications.

Police were sent to the TD Bank on North Main Street around 12:30 p.m. Monday to investigate an incident involving a man attempting to open up checking accounts with a fake name and identification in Bedford and Manchester who was now at their branch, an affidavit stated. The employee said the man was using the restroom when police arrived. The employee said 15 minutes before, the man attempted to use a different name and ID than the ones used at the other locations, the officer wrote.

The employee gave the reporting officer a passport from the Republic of Ghana in the name of a woman in her early 30s. The passport was issued in August 2020 and expired in 2025, the report said. The man also gave the bank employee an electric bill and an international driving permit out of Ghana with the same information as the passport, the report said.

The officer said the man exited the bathroom and was questioned. When asked for his birthdate, he was accused of giving the wrong date as the passport. A check on the name found nothing. The man was accused of giving an address as an apartment at 128 Loudon Road, the affidavit said. A check of the apartment found it was being rented by a different person, the officer stated.

The officer accused the man of “constantly” texting someone whenever they requested information from dispatch, the report stated. The officer also wrote the man had trouble with the address listed on the electric bill.

“The male told me that he is from Ghana but did not know where it was located in Africa,” the officer wrote.

The officer noticed the passport was issued in August 2020, but there were stamps from different countries as far back as 2016. The man told the officer, “Maybe that’s just how Ghana does it,” the report stated. The man also said he had been living in Concord for two years having moved here from Boston, Massachusetts, the officer wrote, but he did not have a New Hampshire ID or a Social Security card. When asked if he worked, the man said he did not know the name of the business, but it was a temp agency for a security team, the report said, and he just went to random sites. The man also said he cashed his checks at Walmart, the report stated.

The bank manager approached the officer with a security image of the suspect with a woman from the Bedford branch, matching the man, the officer said. He, however, denied it was him, the report stated. He also asked if it were him, why wouldn’t the woman be with him, the officer wrote. The man said, the only reason he came to New Hampshire was because “it’s easier to open up an account here than in New York,” the affidavit stated.

The officer then questioned him about his age, and the man adamantly stated he was 32 even though the passport said he should be 34, the affidavit said.

A second officer arrived to assist and eyed the utility bill. That officer said the account number listed on the bill was not a valid customer, according to the report. Both officers questioned the man about his passport information, and when he could not confirm it, he was taken into custody.

After a search, the man pulled out his driver’s license, which was issued in New York. The name on the license also matched the name on a debit card. Police dispatch searched the name and gave the officer an address, which the man confirmed to be true, the report stated.

Paul Winston, 34, of Quincy Street in Brooklyn, NY, was taken to police headquarters, processed, and charged with felony identity fraud and manufacture, sale, and possession of false identification, a misdemeanor. His phone was seized, and a detective applied for a search warrant for it. After speaking with the detective, two forgery charges were added to the docket for allegedly having a fake Ghana passport and international driving permit, the affidavit said.

A check of an automated fingerprint identification system confirmed the man was Winston, the officer wrote.

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