Woman wanted for stealing $25K

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - The Alabama Bureau of Investigation is asking for help in finding a woman who cashed $25,000 worth of bogus checks here on the Gulf Coast. 

When a middle-aged woman walked into the PNC Bank on Airport Blvd June 5 to cash a $1,445 check, no one realized she'd already been to five other branches in Mobile and Baldwin Counties.

"They range anywhere from $1,500 TO $7,500.  There's been a total of seven checks negotiated so far for a little over $25,000," Corporal Stan Stabler said.

Stabler said the woman had no trouble cashing the checks.  She had proper identification and apparently enough money in a personal PNC account to cover the checks. 

But officials said it wasn’t her account.

"This is a real person from another state. She is an actual customer of PNC Bank.  We recently learned that the victim's purse was actually stolen.  So that's more than likely how the suspect has her identity," Stabler said.

The victim, Catherine Fedor lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Stabler said the woman's purse was stolen in mid May. 

A couple of weeks later, someone was cashing checks using Fedor's name.

The suspect hit the Lake Forrest Branch just before 11am on June 4.  At 11:18 a.m. she was in Fairhope. Her next stop was Daphne at 11:46 a.m. and then Spanish Fort at 3:50pm.  The suspect started up again the next day at 10:08 a.m. in Robertsdale, before heading to the PNC branch in the  McGregor Square shopping center in Mobile AT 12:12 p.m.

Most of the checks were supposedly from various businesses.

"We haven't been able to locate any of these businesses, so they all appear to be bogus at this time," Stabler said.

The account the checks were cashed on has been closed.  Now, investigators want to catch the suspect before she targets a new victim.   

If you recognize her call the Alabama Bureau of Investigation at (251) 660-2350.