Would-Be Bank Account Thief Takes Plea

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — A man who went into four People's United Bank branches in one day trying to steal money from an account with a forged license pleaded guilty Tuesday, District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr. announced.

Jose Cabrera of the Bronx pleaded to one count of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, a class D felony.

A grand jury had indicted him in August on:

• Seven counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, felonies
• Second-degree identity theft, a felony
• Fourth-degree attempted grand larceny, a misdemeanor
• Four counts of second-degree criminal impersonation, a misdemeanor
• Third-degree unlawful possession of a personal identification information, a misdemeanor

Westchester County Court Judge Larry J. Schwartz accepted the plea. Cabrera, 55, is scheduled to be sentenced as a second felony offender Nov. 28.

The charge was related to four incidents in March where Cabrera presented himself at various bank branches throughout Westchester County trying to access his victim’s checking account.

Prosecutors said that on the same day, Jose Cabrera went into People’s United Bank branches with a forged Connecticut driver’s license which held a photo of himself but with identifying information of another man, the victim. At branches in Mount Vernon, Yonkers, Ossining and Thornwood he tried to access the same victim’s accounts. While his first attempt failed, he persisted and was arrested on his fourth attempt.

Timeline, March 30, 2018

• 2:23 p.m. People’s United Bank, Yonkers branch - Cabrera requested a bank balance. He provided the teller with a forged Connecticut driver’s license as identification. Some information he gave to the teller did not match the bank’s files. His attempt was unsuccessful.
• 2:55 p.m. People’s United Bank, Mount Vernon branch - Again, Cabrera presented himself as the victim. He requested a printout of the victim’s checking account history. He showed the same forged license to the teller and she printed his history for him.
• 4:01 p.m. People’s United Bank, Ossining branch - In a third incident, he requested a replacement debit card for the victim’s checking account showing the forged license. The teller denied the transaction because the ID did not match the bank’s records. This branch then disseminated a bulletin to other branches warning of the potential scam.
• 4:44 p.m. People’s United Bank, Thornwood branch- Less than an hour later, Cabrera tried again at another branch. This time, using the same forged license and a forged Discover card bearing the victim’s name, he presented a withdrawal slip for $1,750 to withdraw money from the victim’s checking account. Knowing a bulletin had been circulated about this scam, the teller notified management and they called the police. They arrested Cabrera at the branch while he was still using his victim’s name.

Mount Pleasant Police recovered the withdrawal slip, the forged Connecticut driver’s license, and a forged credit card bearing the victim’s name.

Assistant District Attorney Stefanie DeNise of the Westchester County District Attorney’s Investigations Division Identity Theft Unit is prosecuting the case.

SEE ALSO: Arrested for ID Theft