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N.J. man arrested on forgery and identity theft charges

2 min read
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A New Jersey man was arrested Tuesday on a warrant obtained by South Strabane Township police last October after he allegedly used an Eighty Four man’s identity to take out a line of credit at Sam’s Club.

William A. Brawer, 60, of Franklin Lakes, is suspected of committing similar crimes in Connecticut and eastern Pennsylvania, said township police Detective Ken Torboli, who investigated the case.

Torboli credited loss-prevention at Sam’s for helping to nab Brawer, providing surveillance of him and the rental vehicle he had been driving.

“He has been going into stores with information on the victim like name, date of birth and Social Security number,” Torboli said. “We are not sure where he is getting the information, but he just travels around to different states using different identities. We deal with this all of the time, but this time, we got lucky.”

The Eighty Four man contacted South Strabane police in June 2016 to report that his personal information had been used after he was notified by AT&T and Sam’s Club concerning applications for credit made in his name.

Torboli said Brawer upgraded the victim’s AT&T account, using the Eighty Four man’s information by presenting a fake Pennsylvania driver’s license. Brawer allegedly purchased two iPhones as part of the upgrade for $1,698.

At Sam’s, Brawer allegedly used the line of credit to purchase a club membership, make free upgrades to AT&T and buy four Apple iPad Pros. The total loss to Sam’s was $3,896.72. After loss-prevention gave the vehicle information to Torboli, he obtained a search warrant and was able to talk to the New York man who rented the vehicle for Brawer.

Brawer was arraigned before District Judge Traci McDonald on charges of forgery, identity theft, theft by deception and possessing instruments of a crime. He was placed in Washington County jail on $75,000 bond. Brawer is scheduled for a June 5 preliminary hearing before District Judge Jay Weller.

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