A Marion County couple is accused of using stolen checks from businesses and elderly residents in a series of fraud cases investigators say stretched across several months.
Rebecca Ann Johnson, 37, and her live-in boyfriend, Patrick G. Webley Jr., 35, face a long list of charges after investigators linked their Wells Fargo accounts to checks allegedly stolen from mailboxes, altered and deposited electronically.
According to arrest affidavits, the investigation grew from several separate reports that eventually pointed detectives to the same Ocala residence and the same bank accounts.
One case began after a checkbook belonging to Rejuve You, a Belleview business, was reportedly stolen from the mail. Investigators said five checks were forged using the business account.
A $225 check made payable to Webley was successfully deposited into his Wells Fargo account, according to the affidavit. Four others were allegedly written for $275, $650, $845 and $1,350. Those checks were flagged or declined before the money could be withdrawn.
Two checks were made payable to Webley and one was made payable to Johnson. Investigators said neither had done business with Rejuve You and would have had no legitimate reason to receive money from the company.
The Rejuve You case resulted in accusations including mail theft, petit theft, forgery, passing forged checks, attempted passing of forged checks and misuse of personal identification information.
Johnson is also accused in a separate case involving checks stolen from the mailboxes of two elderly residents, ages 79 and 81.
Those checks had originally been written to Duke Energy, CenturyLink and GEICO. Investigators said two were deposited into Johnson’s Wells Fargo account, while a third was presented for deposit.
The checks totaled approximately $2,583. Investigators said the endorsements on the back contained Johnson’s name or a similar signature.
Johnson faces three counts of passing forged checks, grand theft, two counts of mail theft and three counts involving misuse of personal identification information belonging to victims age 60 or older. The affidavit listed the charges as no bond because of the elderly-victim identity offenses.
A third case involved two checks taken from the mailbox of an 86-year-old man before the postal carrier arrived.
One check was for $150 and had been written for lawn care. The other was for $14.58 and had been written to Florida Cancer Specialists. Bank records allegedly showed both checks were deposited into Johnson’s account.
During an interview, Johnson reportedly admitted signing checks so they could be deposited through her Wells Fargo account. She told detectives that a female friend had access to an old phone containing her banking login and asked her to help deposit checks.
Johnson allegedly kept a portion of the money and sent the rest through services including Cash App and Apple Pay.
Investigators said Johnson eventually became suspicious after checks repeatedly came back returned, yet continued participating in the arrangement. Detectives wrote that messages provided by Johnson showed she knew or should have known the activity was illegitimate.
Johnson and Webley later told investigators that another person, whose name was redacted from the affidavits, had asked them to deposit the checks.
Detectives said neither suspect provided evidence showing that person stole the checks or made the deposits. Webley later sent screenshots of messages, though investigators said the messages did not support his explanation.
The affidavits paint a picture of several stolen-check investigations converging on the same couple, the same residence and the same bank accounts.
