Man Charged After Nearly $13,000 Allegedly Withdrawn From Victim’s Bank Account
Hennepin County Jail Booking Photo
WASHINGTON COUNTY: A 55-year-old man has been charged in Washington County after authorities allege he used another person’s identity to make unauthorized cash withdrawals totaling $12,760 from the victim’s bank account.
Dion Antonio Lowe is charged with two felony counts of identity theft, according to a Washington County criminal complaint.
According to the complaint, Woodbury police received an identity theft report on June 13 from M.B., a Missouri resident. M.B. told police he had checked his U.S. Bank accounts the previous day and discovered that $6,280 had been withdrawn from his checking account and another $6,480 had been withdrawn from his savings account.
M.B. told police he did not make either withdrawal and had not authorized anyone else to do so.
Investigators obtained U.S. Bank records through a search warrant and determined that both withdrawals occurred on June 11, according to the complaint.
The first transaction allegedly occurred at 11:49 a.m. at a U.S. Bank branch on Payne Avenue in St. Paul, where $6,280 in cash was withdrawn from M.B.’s checking account.
About 40 minutes later, at 12:30 p.m., another transaction allegedly occurred at a U.S. Bank location in Woodbury, where $6,480 in cash was withdrawn from M.B.’s separate savings account.
The complaint alleges the suspect forged M.B.’s signature on the withdrawal slip during the Woodbury transaction.
Investigators reviewed surveillance video from both bank locations. According to the complaint, the suspect provided what appeared to be photo identification to the teller during both transactions and wrote or signed M.B.’s name on the withdrawal slips.
Exterior surveillance footage from the Woodbury branch allegedly showed the suspect arriving and leaving as a passenger in a white Tesla.
On June 25, Woodbury police distributed photos of the suspect to other law enforcement agencies in the Twin Cities metro area. According to the complaint, a Maple Grove crime analyst identified the suspect as Lowe.
The complaint states Lowe had recently been arrested in Edina in April for similar alleged bank fraud activity and had outstanding warrants from Tennessee for identity theft, forgery and theft.
On Aug. 26, investigators learned Lowe had been arrested in Wisconsin and transferred to the Washington County Jail on two outstanding bench warrants in separate felony bank fraud cases, according to the complaint.
Lowe was interviewed at the Washington County Jail on Aug. 27. During that interview, he allegedly admitted participating in an organized, multi-state bank fraud scheme and specifically admitted making the unauthorized withdrawals from M.B.’s checking and savings accounts on June 11, according to the complaint.
Lowe is charged with two felony counts of identity theft. Each count carries a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
The complaint states Lowe was in custody at the Hennepin County Jail when a warrant was requested in the Washington County case.
The charges are allegations, and Lowe is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.