A Leesburg woman has been arrested on a warrant charging her with cashing fraudulent checks at Amscot in 2023.
Lauren Marie Murphy, 33, was taken into custody this past week for fraud and theft after law enforcement determined she used fraudulent checks at Amscot. During her arrest, fentanyl was found in her possession, adding to the charges.
On the afternoon of Oct. 12, 2023, officers with the Leesburg Police Department responded to the Lake County Felony Probation and Parole Office regarding a fraud complaint, according to an affidavit of probable cause out of Lake County.
Upon arrival, the officers met with a detective and the complainant. The latter, an employee at Probation and Parole, stated that a collections account manager from Amscot Financial called him and advised that two of his checks were returned from his bank as “insufficient funds.” The complainant told the collections account manager that he had not written any checks from that account as the bank, Wachovia Bank, had been closed since 2008 after being bought by Wells Fargo, the affidavit said.
The complainant asked the manager if she could send him copies of the checks so he could file a police report. Upon receiving copies of the checks and statements, he told the manager that he did not know the individuals that the checks were made payable to, one of which was Murphy. He filed a police report for fraud and gave an officer photocopies of the forged checks and the statements from Amscot Financial, the affidavit said.
The first check for $250 and dated Sept. 30, 2023, was written out to Murphy on a Wachovia account. The second check for $250 and dated Oct. 1, 2023, was written out to an unidentified second suspect. Both were cashed at an Amscot located at 1100 W. North Blvd., Leesburg, the affidavit said.
On Feb. 15, 2024, the detective sent a subpoena to Amscot Financial for any checks drawn on the Wachovia Bank account holder with the complainant’s name, the customer information, transaction records, video surveillance if available, copies of the checks cashed or attempted to be cashed, and the original Amscot Form 88 cards for the person cashing a check at Amscot using the complainant’s account, the affidavit said.
On Feb. 29, 2024, the detective received copies of the checks, copies of the original Form 88 cards and the surveillance videos. He also got information about a third party who tried to cash checks three times on Oct. 4, 2023, the affidavit said.
On Aug. 6, 2024, the detective went to the Amscot in Leesburg and met with the employee who cashed Murphy’s fraudulent check. The witness stated she always matched the customer’s state-issued ID with the person standing in front of her to make sure they were the same. She also matched them to the information in her system, the affidavit said.
The witness kept the ID given by the customer until the transaction was completed, then gave it back to the customer. The customer had to be in their system before they could do business with Amscot, and Amscot had to have a copy of their ID on file before cashing checks, the affidavit said.
Based on this information, the detective believed there was probable cause for Murphy’s arrest and signed a warrant for her arrest on March 26, 2025. As such, an officer with the Fruitland Park Police Department tried to find her at 11:30 p.m. Monday, according to an arrest report from the FPPD.
Upon arrival at her last known residence of 806 Plumosa Ave., Fruitland Park, he spotted a woman get into the front passenger seat of a vehicle. He approached the vehicle, and the male driver rolled down the passenger side window. The officer observed Murphy sitting in the passenger seat, the report said.
Murphy was asked to step out of the vehicle and was handcuffed. As one officer confirmed her warrant with dispatch, another searched the immediate area. A small gray metal container was found directly in front of Murphy on the dashboard of the vehicle, the report said.
An officer opened the container and observed a small white piece of wet cotton inside. At the time, Murphy advised that she had a needle in her bra. The cotton later tested positive for fentanyl, the report said. After being read her rights, Murphy stated the metal container was hers. She admitted she normally used fentanyl and was going to use the needle, the report said.
Murphy was ultimately arrested for the warrant charging her with criminal use of personal information, uttering a forged check and petit theft (greater than $100 less than $750). She received additional charges for possession of fentanyl and drug paraphernalia. The New Hampshire native was transported to Lake County Jail with bond set at $9,500.