Four Franklin residents – three men and a woman – are facing charges after a house in Rocky Grove was broken into and several items, including an unemployment card, were stolen.
The card was used to make almost $2,000 worth of purchases, Sugarcreek Borough police said.
Police said in a criminal complaint that on Sept. 30, a man called Sugarcreek police to report that his wife’s unemployment debit card and several other items had been stolen.
A press release from police said Keirney Manson, 28, Haney and Brandon Johnson, 25, “used the victim’s Social Security card to change the pin number of the unemployment card so that they could access the funds.”
The man also told police that Haney, Manson and Gavin Leahy, 23, had entered his house through broken windows and taken several items, including a TV, the complaint said.
The man said Leahy admitted to him the items had been removed, the complaint said.
The man added that Leahy had gone to Manson’s house and retrieved the TV and helped him get his stuff back, the complaint said.
When police checked video footage at Rural King from the date and time one of the purchases was made, the video showed Manson and Johnson at the checkout where Manson used the card to buy items, the complaint said.
Haney and Manson told police they had made purchases on the card and sent money via Facebook and Cashapp, the complaint said.
Haney told police Manson would send him money from the card and he would put it back on Manson’s Paypal account, the complaint said.
The pair said they had obtained the card number from Johnson, believed the card was his and had sent him money, the complaint said.
Haney and Manson told police they would return all the items they had bought using the card, according to the complaint.
These items matched the items listed on the man’s bank records that had been purchased with the stolen card, the complaint said.
Haney, Johnson and Manson have been charged with felony counts of theft by unlawful taking-movable property, receiving stolen property, conspiracy-identity theft, identity theft, conspiracy-access device issued to another who did not authorize use and access device issued to another who did not authorize use.
Haney, Leahy and Manson are facing felony charges of conspiracy-burglary-overnight accommodation no person present, burglary-overnight accommodation no person present, conspiracy-criminal trespass- break into structure and criminal trespass- break into structure, and a misdemeanor count of theft from a motor vehicle.
Leahy is also facing a felony count of receiving stolen property.
All four defendants were arraigned Tuesday. Haney was unable to post bail and was confined to the Venango County jail.
Preliminary hearings for all four are scheduled Oct. 28 in Central Court.
