A woman who police say used fake IDs to commit a series of bank frauds across several states, including Nebraska and Maine, was arrested over the Canadian border near Houlton last week after eluding police in a car chase.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested Rachael Kennedy, 37, of Kansas, and Rashidah Henry, 31, of Georgia, around 7:15 p.m. on Oct. 24, several hours after Kennedy attempted to use a fake passport to commit theft at Katahdin Trust Bank in Houlton, Houlton Police Chief Tim DeLuca said Wednesday in a release.
The RCMP transported Kennedy and Henry to the Houlton Port of Entry, where the Houlton Police Department took them into custody and brought them to the Aroostook County Jail, where both are still held.
Earlier that day, the Maine State Police posted on social media seeking the public’s help in identifying the woman, later named as Kennedy, who it said was wanted for committing fraud at several banks in the Bangor area and one in Mars Hill.
It was not the first time that week that a police department had done so. On Oct. 22, 2,000 miles west the Alliance Nebraska Police Department posted security camera images of a woman who it said is “believed to be involved with multiple cases of fraud across western Nebraska.”
In total, the department’s post said, she had stolen nearly $30,000 from three banks in Alliance, Rushville and Bridgeport, Nebraska, by using fraudulent IDs to withdraw money from bank accounts that are not hers. On Oct. 27, the department updated the post to say that the suspect had been arrested in Maine.
The Oct. 24 police chase to the Maine-Canada border that led to Kennedy’s arrest began shortly after 4:39 p.m., after a Houlton Police officer arrived at Katahdin Trust to investigate a reported attempted theft.
As the officer entered the bank, employees identified the woman later named as Kennedy, who had just exited the building, as the person involved, DeLuca said. When the officer returned to their cruiser, they noticed the woman had crossed the street and was running toward a vehicle in the Cigaret Shopper parking lot.
Once Kennedy got in the vehicle, a light blue Chevrolet with New York license plates, Henry drove out of the parking lot, headed north on North Street, onto I-95 and over the Canadian border while eluding police, DeLuca said.
Kennedy, who has outstanding warrants for theft and fraud in Kansas, has been charged with felony forgery and criminal attempted theft. Bail was set at $7,000.
Henry, who has outstanding warrants in Georgia, has been charged with felony eluding an officer, criminal conspiracy, driving to endanger and operating without a license. Bail was set at $5,000.
Maine State Police spokesperson Shannon Moss said Monday that the state police will “add our charge” from the alleged Mars Hill fraud to those filed by the Houlton Police Department.
The FBI is also investigating the case, Alliance Police Chief David Leavitt told the Bangor Daily News Tuesday. A spokesperson for the FBI cited the government shutdown in their response to a request for information Wednesday, saying “DOJ operations are directed toward national security, violations of federal law, and essential public safety functions. Inquiries outside of these functions will be considered when the lapse in appropriations ends.”
Bank fraud is a federal crime that can carry a sentence of up to 30 years in prison.
