Police: Philadelphia Man Nabbed in Charlestown Check Fraud Case

After an investigation that spanned over three years, a Philadelphia man was arraigned last week on charges that he attempted to cash $6,800 in checks police say he stole while working in a Charlestown home.

Marcilino Lamont Sanchez-Davis, 32, was charged with felony counts of theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, and accessing a device issued to someone who did not authorize its use, stemming from the 2009 incident.

According to court documents, that July Sanchez-Davis was working on a house on the unit block of Carrow Lane in Charlestown Township when the homeowner reported two checks missing: one was cashed for $3,000, while a second, made out for $3,800 was denied cashing.

After getting a search warrant for bank records in June of 2011, police tracked the check back to the account of Sanchez-Davis.

In an interview with state police on July 2 of that year, Sanchez-Davis said he was innocent. A childhood friend had hired him to do a renovation job with him, he claimed in Philadelphia, and when the work was done explained that the owner had paid him with a check. Because the friend didn’t have a bank account or a photo-ID, Sanchez-Davis said the friend asked him to make the deposit for him, which he did.

Sanchez-Davis was charged on November 8 of 2012 and faces preliminary hearing on December 20.