Lake Charles, LA –
On September 1 Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives arrested Colby J. Richard, 28, 966 Walker Street, Sulphur, after an investigation revealed he was responsible for numerous cases of theft and fraud.
During the investigation it was learned since July Richard has been stealing mail out of residential mailboxes in the Lake Charles and Sulphur areas in an attempt to locate checks, money orders, or credit and debit cards. The investigation revealed Richard would alter and forge the checks he found and make a mobile deposit in order to receive the money. It was also discovered Richard fraudulently opened accounts in numerous victim’s names and used those accounts to redeem the altered checks.
On September 1, when detectives made contact with Richard he presented them with an identification card belonging to one of the victims. He was arrested and booked into the Calcasieu Correctional Center and charged with 16 counts of forgery; 16 counts of bank fraud; 4 counts of identity theft less than $300; 2 counts of identity theft $300 - $500; 6 counts of identity theft $1,000 or more; and resisting an officer by refusal to ID. His total bond is set at $183,000.
The investigations are ongoing and more charges are pending. There are currently 23 identified victims and detectives are currently working to identify over 25 additional victims. Detectives believe the victims either knew Richard or one of his acquaintances.
CPSO Detectives Joshua Bruns and Shelli Fontenot are the lead investigators on these cases.
An arrest is an indication that probable cause exists to believe the subject was involved in the offense alleged. A person is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.