A Marion woman was arrested Tuesday after police said she stole her former employer’s daughter’s identity, Florence Police Maj. Carlos Raines said.
Stephanie Rowell, 34, of 703 Georgetown St. is charged with forgery-value $5,000 or more, receiving stolen goods-value $5,000 or more and two counts of financial identity fraud, Florence County Detention Center bookings reports show.
Police said the suspect stole the victim’s identity between Jan. 1 and April 30, 2006, while the suspect worked for the victim’s father, who owned a Myrtle Beach construction company.
The suspect was employed in the company’s finance department through a temporary agency despite the fact she was previously convicted of a financial crime, according to police reports. The victim told police no one at the company knew about the suspect’s criminal record.
The suspect was preparing employee income tax documents when she stole the victim’s personal information, according to reports. She then combined the victim’s information with the driver’s licenses number of a second victim and open credit accounts at several stores in Florence and made purchases totaling more than $5,000, according to reports. She also opened credit accounts in Conway, but Florence police aren’t sure how many.
Florence police began investigating the case four months ago when the first victim told them about the charges. They have contacted the Conway Police Department with information about the suspect.
Rowell was released Wednesday from the jail in Effingham, but bond information wasn’t available.
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