PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) -- A forged $45,000 check tied to the Flagler Museum has led to felony charges against a Boca Raton woman, police say.
According to a Palm Beach Police Department probable cause affidavit, Alexandra C. Kaiser, 31, was arrested on Tuesday and is accused of depositing a counterfeit check drawn on the museum's Northern Trust account into her personal JP Morgan Chase bank account earlier this year. Kaiser faces one count each of grand theft, uttering a forged check and criminal use of personal identification information.
The investigation began after Northern Trust Bank alerted the Flagler Museum to fraudulent activity involving one of its checks. Police said a check numbered 43631, made payable to Kaiser in the amount of $45,851.17, was flagged as counterfeit after it was deposited on Jan. 28.
Museum officials later told police the check had not been authorized and that the legitimate check bearing the same number was still in the museum's possession and had been written out to a different recipient.
Bank records obtained through subpoena showed the check was deposited in person at a JP Morgan Chase branch. Surveillance footage allegedly shows Kaiser approaching a teller, handing over the check, inserting her debit card and entering her PIN before completing the transaction, police said.
The funds were credited to the account on the same day and later withdrawn and returned to the bank on Feb. 2, investigators reported. Police also confirmed the debit card used during the transaction had previously been mailed to Kaiser's Boca Raton address.
During a recorded phone interview with detectives on April 9, Kaiser admitted to depositing the check and told investigators she knew it was counterfeit, according to the affidavit. She allegedly said she had been approached by an acquaintance who arranged a meeting with an unknown woman while Kaiser was in New York on a modeling photo shoot, where she received the check.
Kaiser told police she believed she would keep approximately half of the money if the check cleared and send the remaining portion to another party. She reportedly described the decision as a mistake and said she was not thinking clearly at the time.
Police said the alleged actions meet the criteria for grand theft involving more than $750, passing a forged financial instrument and fraudulently using personal identifying information without authorization.
Kaiser was booked into the Palm Beach County jail on April 14, and the case remains under review by the State Attorney's Office.