KNOX BOROUGH, Pa. (EYT) — Charges have been filed against an area woman who is accused of stealing nearly $3,000.00 from a Knox Borough resident’s bank account.
Court documents indicate the Knox Borough Police Department on January 13 filed criminal charges against 47-year-old Wendy Renee Sloss, of Kennerdell.
According to a criminal complaint, Chief Bauer, of the Knox Borough Police, received a phone call from a health management employee around noon on September 30, 2021, reporting the theft of money from a known victim in Knox Borough. Police responded to the victim’s residence and spoke to a caseworker and the victim.
According to the complaint, the victim reported that a few weeks earlier he/she had a debit card mailed to his/her residence and was attempting to activate it with the help of another caseworker identified as Wendy Sloss. The victim indicated when they were unable to activate the card, Sloss stated she would take it to her residence and continue to attempt to activate it.
Police were then provided with bank statements from the account attached to the debit card, which showed a number of charges to the card including:
9/10/2021 — Service Charge Paper Statement Fee — $2.00
9/17/2021 — ATM Withdrawal, East State Street, Knox — $200.00
9/17/2021 — ATM Fee — $2.00
9/17/2021 — Surcharge — $2.50
9/20/2021 — Sportyzen.com — $51.94
9/20/2021 — LTD — $48.98
9/22/2021 — ATM West Main Street — $600.00
9/22/2021 — ATM West Main Street — $200.00
9/24/2021 — ATM Route 208 Fryburg — $500.00
9/24/2021 — ATM Fee — $2.00
9/24/2021 — POS Walmart Clarion — $999.99
9/24/2021 — Stardust Fan Fanduel — $200.00
9/24/2021 — Surcharge — $2.00
The complaint indicates total amount charged to the card was $2,809.41.
Sloss was then interviewed on October 6.
When questioned about the debit card, Sloss initially said she had given it back, but when she was shown screenshots of text messages where she stated she still had the card, she admitted to still being in possession of it, according to the complaint.
The complaint states Sloss also initially denied the ATM withdrawals were for personal use and stated she had given $200.00 to the victim. However, she then reportedly made statements saying she had “made mistakes” and admitted she had used $500.00 for an Air BnB trip she had planned, but said she had money to pay the victim back.
During further questioning, Sloss reportedly admitted to using money from the victim’s account for an Air BnB trip, a pre-paid credit card, an airline ticket, a holiday loan payment, and a payment on her car insurance, according to the complaint.
The complaint indicates Sloss admitted to taking nearly $3,000.00 from the victim. She also told police “that’s just an estimate,” and said she was willing to give it back.
Sloss told police the victim told her that she could use the victim’s funds to pay for her trip if she paid the victim back, according to the complaint.
When police questioned the victim about the money, the victim denied authorizing Sloss to use the debit card at all, the complaint notes.
Police were also able to obtain video surveillance from the Clarion Walmart store showing Sloss going to the service desk on September 24 to complete the $999.99 transaction, according to the complaint.
Sloss was arraigned in front of Magisterial District Judge Jarah Lee Heeter at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, January 21, on the following charges:
– Access Device Issued to Another Who Did Not Authorize Use, Felony 3
– Theft by Unlawful Taking-Movable Property, Felony 3
She remains free on $10,000.00 unsecured bail.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10:45 a.m. on February 8 with Judge Heeter presiding.
