Local woman accused of using Utah woman’s identity to try and buy a car
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IDAHO FALLS – Identity theft is not a joke, as one Utah woman learned after another woman tried to buy a car in Idaho Falls with her information.
Cassandra E. Welch, 27, appeared in court on Tuesday after being charged with felony misappropriation of personal identifying information for purchases or credit over $300.
Idaho Falls Police were contacted by a Utah woman on Aug. 1. She reported that an auto dealership in Idaho Falls had run a credit check on her, and she didn’t know why.
The woman told officers that although she was in the process of buying a car, the one she was purchasing was in New York, and the only credit checks should’ve been through her credit card company and the New York dealership.
The woman said she attempted to call the dealership in Idaho Falls, but it was closed, so she contacted police. Officers visited the Idaho Falls dealership the next day. The manager said a woman had come in the day before with the same name as the Utah woman.
The manager told officers that the woman had come in with her girlfriend and was interested in purchasing a car for her. The woman allegedly filled out a Retail Motor Vehicle Credit Application form with information belonging to the Utah woman, including her name, date of birth, and Social Security number.
After the credit check, the manager told the woman that another car was coming up, which had been financed under the name she had given, but the woman could not tell the manager what kind of car it was.
She reportedly told the manager that it was “bought for an ex-girlfriend.”
The car dealership manager felt the “circumstances were suspicious” and decided not to continue with the sale.
Officers viewed security footage from the car dealership and identified the woman’s girlfriend due to a recent booking photo. They later learned Cassandra Welch was the alleged thief.
Police told the Utah woman that they believed her identity had been stolen. She told officers that her car had been stolen in Salt Lake City about a year ago, with her purse inside, which contained all of her identification documents.
Officers searched the phone number provided on the credit application, and it returned to Welch. They also discovered that she was from Salt Lake City.
On Aug. 4, Welch was arrested and booked into the Bonneville County Jail. She admitted to police that she “used (the Utah woman’s) information to obtain credit for a new vehicle because her credit was bad.”
She also stated several times that “she knew what she was doing was wrong.”
Welch appeared in court on Aug. 16, and her attorneys argued for a bail reduction, but it remained at $35,000.
Though Welch has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean she committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.
Welch is scheduled to continue her preliminary hearing on Aug. 23. If convicted, she could face up to five years in prison.