BULLOCH CO., GA (WTOC) -
A Statesboro couple has been charged with financial identity fraud and several other charges.
On Dec. 23, the Bulloch County Sheriff's Office responded to a burglary at a home in the 500 block of Parrish Road in Statesboro. Personal checks and other items were stolen.
The victims contacted the sheriff's office when they discovered that checks had been drawn on their bank account to buy items in Effingham and Chatham counties.
Surveillance video obtained by investigators showed a woman at the Pooler Wal-Mart using the stolen checks to make purchases. Still images of the surveillance video were distributed to the media and posted on the sheriff's office Facebook page. Citizen tips led to the identification of the woman as 34-year-old Brandy Marie Barbee.
Barbee had an extensive, multi-state criminal history of financial crimes, according to the sheriff's office. She was tracked down using tips from the public.
A search was conducted at Barbee's residents in the 600 block of Waverly Lane in Statesboro. A working area for the manufacturing of fictitious checks was set up at her house, according to the sheriff's office.
Checks with 40 different names, 113 different routing numbers, and 553 total checks were recovered during the search, according to the sheriff's office.
A truck parked at the residence had been reported stolen from Waynesboro, according to BCSO.
Tito Scott, Barbee's boyfriend, was taken into custody at the home and taken to the Bulloch County Jail.
Barbee was not home at the time of the search warrant and subsequently left out of state. Investigators contacted the U.S. Marshals Service for help in locating Barbee.
On Jan. 12, U.S. Marshals found Barbee in a Nashville, Tenn., motel and took her into custody. She was extradited back to Bulloch County where she is being held without bond.
Several agencies were involved in the identity theft case. Barbee is a person of interest in other, similar cases being worked on by agencies in Chatham County, according to the sheriff's office.
The U.S. Secret Service is also reviewing the case to determine whether federal prosecution is appropriate.
Barbee is charged in Georgia with 41 counts of financial identity fraud; one count of negotiating fraudulent checks; one count of felony theft by receiving stolen property; and superior court probation violation.
Scott is charged with one count of financial identity fraud; one count of negotiating fraudulent checks; one count of felony theft by receiving stolen property.
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Brandy Marie Barbee, Tito Jermaine Scott (Source: Bulloch Co. Sheriff's Office)
Brandy Marie Barbee (Source: Bulloch County Sheriff's Office)
Tito Jermaine Scott (Source: Bulloch County Sheriff's Office)
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