Sheriff’s Office wants to identify woman who cashed checks in a $3,000 theft from a couple after posing as the owner of a Chalmette house for rent; Same woman may be involved in a similar $2,000 case

The St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office is trying to identify a woman who cashed checks in a $3,000 theft from a couple after posing as the owner of an Arabi house for rent and may also be involved in a similar case involving a $2,000 theft, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

A woman, in her early 20s, cashed checks in August after meeting with a couple who answered an ad on the Craigslist web site for classifieds and accepted a total of $3,000 in checks covering a deposit and two months’ rent on the Arabi house, the sheriff said.

It turned out she didn’t own the home, he said.

Also, a similar trick was used by a woman in September to steal $2,000 from a separate couple after posing as a property agent for a home in Chalmette, Sheriff Pohlmann said.

Sheriff’s detectives working the cases believe they are likely connected, he said.

Anyone with information on the identity of the woman shown in a bank photo cashing checks should call the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office at (504) 271-2501 or Crimestoppers at (504) 822-1111.