RAINELLE W.Va. (WVDN) – According to a criminal complaint, on October 7, at around 2 p.m., an officer received a walk-in complaint at the Rainelle detachment of the West Virginia State Police. The complaint was in reference to possible fraud.
The trooper was contacted by an APS worker, otherwise known as the complainant. The complainant reportedly stated that Burke and Herbert Bank in Rubert said that several checks were being cashed on an account by people who were not the checks’ owners. The complainant stated that she had gathered up 41 checks cashed with the signature of the victim.
The complainant also reportedly said she made contact with the victim’s daughter, who allegedly stated that Erica Rudd, the victim’s granddaughter, was living with the victim and could be involved in the fraudulent activity.
The trooper made contact with the accused on the same day at the residence. Before speaking with the accused, the trooper reportedly advised her that she wasn’t being detained, nor did she have to speak with him. According to the criminal complaint, Rudd advised that she still wished to speak with the trooper. Rudd allegedly stated that she was taking the checks and forging the victim’s name at the bottom. According to the criminal complaint, she would also make the checks out to multiple people so they could take the checks and get them cashed. The accused stated she would do this frequently.
The trooper then showed the gathered checks to the accused. She allegedly picked out the fraudulent checks from the authorized checks that were not forged. The accused reportedly identified 34 checks that she had fraudulently cashed, signed and given to other people to cash.
With a review of the fraudulent and authorized checks, the officer determined that the 34 checks identified by the accused were forged. The amount of the 34 checks totaled $9,800.
The warrant was for one count of exploitation of an elderly person and 34 counts of forgery and uttering.
