A Texas woman attempted more than $820,000 in fraudulent bank transactions across multiple states, according to federal investigators.
Stephanie Sean Strother, 61, of Dallas, also uses the name Stephanie Sean Cummings, authorities said.
Police took the Dallas resident into custody after officers were summoned to a Regions Bank location in Alabama, records show.
Strother allegedly walked into the branch and attempted to wire $50,000 to an account in Fort Worth, investigators said.
She also attempted to withdraw an additional $8,500 in cash, according to police.
To complete the transactions, the suspect presented a Louisiana driver’s license and a Social Security card belonging to another woman, authorities said.
Bank workers refused to carry out the requests, according to police. Responding officers quickly determined Strother was not the woman pictured on the documents, the complaint states.
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Investigators subsequently conducted a search of the motel room where the defendant had been staying, according to court records.
Inside the room, detectives discovered additional driver’s licenses, Social Security cards, and credit cards bearing the names of other people, police said.
That discovery revealed the operation extended far beyond a single Alabama transaction, federal authorities said.
Federal investigators alleged Strother was tied to more than $820,000 in attempted fraudulent transactions at Regions Bank branches across several states, the affidavit states. More than $400,000 of that sum was successfully obtained, according to federal officials.
Strother told investigators that she was taking direction from someone else, according to an FBI affidavit.
The defendant claimed someone she knew only as “Don” would contact her through Telegram, the affidavit states. That contact allegedly instructed her on which bank transactions to attempt, according to court documents.
Authorities have not publicly identified the individual known as “Don,” according to federal officials.
Strother is now federally charged with bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, court records show.
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