Ebonee Edwards
A Las Vegas woman has been charged with stealing and cashing a $71,248 check from the Schaumburg Township District Library intended for a suburban-based company for work related to renovation of the library’s second floor.
Ebonee Edwards, approximately 30 years old, was arrested by Las Vegas police Aug. 21 and charged with forgery, theft of between $25,000 and $100,000 and two counts of burglary of a business, according to records.
Edwards was reportedly identified via surveillance footage depositing the check with an altered payee name into her bank account at an ATM in Las Vegas Feb. 6. But records of the police investigation provide no conclusions on how she obtained the check.
The check was intended for Featherstone, Inc. and was picked up by the U.S. Postal Service at the Schaumburg Township District Library on or about Jan. 19, according to the investigation.
Library officials got back the processed check with the altered name on it on Feb. 22 and filed a report of fraudulent activity the following day.
Bank records showed investigators Edwards had already withdrawn the deposited funds from her account over the course of six large transactions on Feb. 15 and 16.
The check’s deposit was traced through the bank to the ATM where the surveillance camera recorded the activity. The woman making the deposit arrived in a vehicle with Nevada license plates registered to Edwards, and was further confirmed to be her through a comparison with existing Las Vegas Metropolitan Police photos.
Edwards had prior arrests for prostitution/solicitation, domestic battery, sex trafficking, child abuse/neglect and minor traffic violations, according to police records.
The lead detective tried to reach Edwards through a telephone number provided by her bank, but was unsuccessful.
Just before 9 a.m. Aug. 21, a pair of Las Vegas police officers observed two women loitering over a 10-minute period near an intersection reportedly well-known as a prostitution and high-crime area with conspicuous “No Trespassing” signs around it.
After the two women were stopped, one was identified as Edwards, the detective in charge of the fraud investigation was notified, and Edwards was charged and transported to the Clark County Detention Center to await a bond hearing.
Edwards was not listed as an inmate of the detention center Friday. Information about her next scheduled court date wasn’t immediately available.
Meanwhile, Schaumburg Township District Library officials are continuing to work with the Library Insurance Risk Association and the two banks involved in an effort to recover the loss, Marketing and Communications Director Andrea Lublink said.