As Seen in Journal
A Las Cruces woman suspected of trying to cash an altered check and using a dying woman’s debit card to make several purchases has been charged with seven felonies, according to a Las Cruces Police Department news release.
Mary Jane Orona, 42, is facing five counts of unauthorized use of a bank card and one count each of forgery and theft, the release said.
Police learned on Monday that Orona had gone to two different financial institutions and was trying to cash a check from a loan company, and when the loan company, Your Credit, was contacted, it appeared that the check which had been made out for $200 had been altered to say $600, according to the release.
When Orona was sent back to the loan company, she was met by a Las Cruces police officer, and detectives later learned that Orona had made five purchases on an elderly woman’s checking account between Oct. 23 to Nov. 5, 2011, while she served as the woman’s caregiver, police said.
The charges were not discovered until after the elderly woman’s death on Nov. 10, the release said.