Peters Township police arrest two ‘John Does’ for fraud
John Doe 1 had a false ID with the name “Robert Pokorny.”
John Doe 2 had a fraudulent ID with the name “Filip Honza.”
Peters Township police arrested two men accused of withdrawing thousands of dollars with stolen debit cards.
The men are referred to in the criminal complaint only as John Doe 1 and John Doe 2. Each had Czech Republic identifications bearing the names “Robert Pokorny” and “Filip Honza.”
Police said they believe the IDs are fraudulent, and suspect both John Does are of Romanian descent and in the country illegally.
They each face felonies of access device fraud, unlawful duplication, unlawful use of a computer, and misdemeanors of identity theft.
According to court documents, Peters police were alerted to fraudulent activity on April 11 when a Minnesota resident reported three ATM withdrawals totaling $1,170 at the CVS on Washington Road.
That same day an Indiana resident also reported fraudulent withdrawals, with $700 taken from an ATM inside the Walgreens on East McMurray Road.
A third victim had $1,600 removed from their account via the ATM at the BP gas station on Washington Road.
An employee told police that from April 9 to 11, $2,800 were removed from the ATM over 17 transactions.
“The employee stated this is astronomically high compared to most weekends,” the criminal complaints reads.
Through surveillance footage, police were able to determine that the suspects parked at the ProMedica nursing home on West McMurray Road and walked to the ATMs.
On Monday police were alerted that their vehicle was traveling from North Strabane Township toward Peters. Police took John Doe 1 into custody while he was withdrawing cash from the Walgreens ATM.
John Doe 2 was seen running across Washington Road toward Walgreens and taken into custody. Police found their vehicle in the ProMedica parking lot.
Each man was in possession of various debit and credit cards. John Doe 2 had 10 American Express gold cards, all with the same number and expiration date.
District Judge David Mark sent each to the Washington County jail without bond, as their true identities remain unknown.
They are due to appear for a preliminary hearing at 2 p.m. May 3.