Woman connected to forgery ring faces additional charges

Police say the scam cost area banks $85,000.

Janice, Aileen Castro, 38, of Charlotte, N.C.

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By Dave Greber, Staff Writer Updated 5:01 PM Tuesday, June 16, 2009

A Charlotte, N.C., woman is facing additional charges after West Chester Twp. police said she played a role in a stolen check ring that cost area banks nearly $85,000.

Janice Aileen Castro, 38, of Major Street in Charlotte, was arrested in West Chester Twp. last week after one of three stops she made in the area to cash allegedly forged checks. Police said the May 27 arrest connected Castro to three attempts to cash checks at various banks that day.

She was subsequently charged with forgery, theft and receiving stolen property.

Each of the charges is a fifth-degree felony.

Castro was in Butler County Area III Court last week, where her case was bound over to a grand jury.

She posted bond from the Butler County Jail on June 1, according to the Butler County Sheriff’s Office Web site.

West Chester Twp. police were contacted by officials from U.S. Bank, 7797 Tylers Place Blvd., after a teller there reported Castro was trying to cash what was later determined to be a stolen check for $3,488.02, which she allegedly forged.

Police said Castro then attempted to do the same thing at two other banks in West Chester on May 27 — Fifth Third and Huntington banks — and was successful at Fifth Third. As a result, the tellers at U.S. Bank were notified to be aware ahead of time, police said.

On May 27, she reportedly attempted to cash between $8,000 and $10,000 in forged checks, each made out to a different person.

Castro was stopped a short distance away from U.S. Bank, at the Shell gas station at 7782 Tylers Place Blvd., and taken into custody without incident, police said. Further investigation revealed others were involved in the alleged scheme, which cost banks in the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area nearly $86,500 in checks they cashed that turned out to be fraudulent.

Casto is now facing seven felony counts of forgery, four counts of felony theft, five counts of felony receiving stolen property, two counts of felony attempted theft and other related misdemeanor charges, according to Sgt. Joe Gutman, of the West Chester Twp. Police Department.

John Swanson, 38, of St. Petersburg, Fla., was also charged, Gutman said. He was charged with one count each of felony theft, felony receiving stolen property and felony forgery. He is being held in Pittsburgh, Penn., in connection to the investigation and is awaiting extradition, Gutman said.

Rhea Michelle Talley, 37, also of Charlotte, N.C., has been charged with one count each of felony receiving stolen property and felony forgery. She remains at large, Gutman said.

Police said Castro had other warrants out for her arrest on similar charges, including in West Chester from last month, and in Pennsylvania and possibly Florida over the past few months.

Police said the checks were real, but Castro stole them from mailboxes belonging to local businesses. It is still not known how many checks or businesses were involved.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2112 or dgreber@coxohio.com.

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