Somerset Police arrested three people after an October 28 cheque fraud investigation at Citizens Bank in Somerset ended with a $35,000 check being found fraudulent. Andre Cairo, Stasha Medeiros and Rajheem Chardonnette were later arraigned in Fall River District Court and released before December pretrial hearings.
Citizens Bank in Somerset
Police responded to Citizens Bank at 815 Grand Army Highway after a report that a female suspect was trying to deposit the check into a newly opened account. The account had reportedly been opened one day earlier, and the teller flagged suspicious indicators before contacting the business named on the check.
The business said the check, made payable to the female suspect and using its name, was fraudulent. Police said these schemes often involve multiple people working together, and the case quickly moved from a single bank transaction to arrests and a criminal summons.
Super Stop & Shop parking lot
Detectives saw the female suspect walking through the Super Stop & Shop parking lot before entering a gray 2002 Volvo. Police prevented the car from leaving the area during the investigation, which connected the bank report to the people later charged in the case.
That sequence mattered because the suspect did not remain inside the bank after the attempt. The stop in the parking lot gave detectives a direct link between the reported transaction and the vehicle involved in the inquiry.
Fall River District Court
Cairo of Fall River, Medeiros of Swansea and Chardonnette of Fall River were each charged with Attempting to Commit a Crime, Uttering a False Check and Conspiracy. At arraignment, all three pleaded not guilty and were released, with pretrial hearings scheduled for December.
A fourth person was criminally summoned, but the case left one open point: who that person is. For now, the bank, the vehicle and the $35,000 check attempt are the parts of the record that carry the case forward.
