Cops: Jericho bank employee accused of stealing checks
An employee of a Webster Bank in Jericho faces a second-degree grand larceny charge for allegedly stealing checks at the bank and attempting to sell them on a social media platform, Nassau police said. Credit: John Roca
A Hauppauge woman allegedly accessed checks last year while working for a bank in Jericho and illegally posted them for sale on Telegram, a social media site, Nassau police said Wednesday.
Cricel Santamaria, 24, of Devonshire Road, was arrested Tuesday by detectives from the Major Case Squad and investigators from the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office and charged with second-degree grand larceny.
Santamaria pleaded not guilty at her arraignment Wednesday in Mineola and was released on her own recognizance.
Police said Santamaria was working for Webster Bank at Jericho Plaza on Feb. 4, 2022, when she allegedly accessed an undisclosed number of checks without authorization.
Images of those checks were then posted for sale online, resulting in a loss to the bank of $108,000, police said.
A Nassau Police spokesman could not confirm whether Santamaria successfully sold the checks, who they specifically belonged to or how they were used.
Santamaria is due back in court on Oct. 18.
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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