A Channel 11 exclusive: $50,000 stolen from a local hardware store.
“It really hurts a small business like this. And it’s hard to recoup after something like this,” American Hardware Vice President Kevin Blum told Channel 11.
Blum is talking about his company’s $50,000 check that was stolen out of the mail in Washington and ended up fraudulently deposited in Nevada.
“It’s definitely scary in today’s world that you can’t mail a check, that you have to resort to doing ACH payments,” the company’s controller, Misty Hohing, told Channel 11.
The check was placed in a blue mailbox outside of W&J College, and police say it ended up in the hands of Cassandra Medina, who lives in Nevada.
Investigators say Medina knowingly deposited the stolen check.
The question detectives are trying to answer is: how did Medina get the check in the first place?
“Through history of dealing with this kind of stuff, we have noticed that some of these checks get posted on third-party apps and they essentially sell them to individuals who are looking for a quick payout,” City of Washington police detective Brady Stallings told Channel 11
According to investigators, they believe someone stole the check, then sold it to Medina — who police say then divided the money between two other people and deposited it.
“Essentially, where the theft originated from. In the mail stream, whether it made it to a mail stream or whether it was taken from that destination, or where the theft of the check occurred. That’s what we are trying to originate,” Stallings said.
American Hardware employees want their business’ money back — and for justice to be served.
“I’d like to see her in court. I’m hoping for that day. And she should be liable to pay everything back. Or spend some jail time.”
The detective told Channel 11 there have been a dozen recent reports of mail theft here in Washington.
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