Around the Region: Police Receive Lesson in Fraud, Juveniles Arrested for Garden Vandalism and Woman Charged With 128 Counts of Forgery

– Alpharetta Patch

A 19-year-old Lawrenceville man's statement to Milton police after his arrest reads like a how-to for financial transaction fraud.

The suspect was detained by a loss prevention officer at Fry's on April 11 after he bought an Apple MacBook Pro 17" laptop. The cashier noted that one number was on the Visa "1-2-3 Rewards" debit card, while another account number showed on the store's credit card reader.

Inside the suspect’s car, police found four debit cards, a driver's license, a piece of paper with personal information of another man, cell pones, $647 in cash, another MacBook Pro–and a credit card reader/writer. The man explained to police how he uses the equipment to load illegally obtained information onto gift cards he gets from grocery stores.

– Dunwoody Patch

Five juveniles have been charged with a felony in connection with vandalizing a Dunwoody community. Those arrested were all 16 years of age. Four of those charged are students at Dunwoody High School, police said.

The garden was vandalized late on March 30 or early March 31 causing damage, including the destruction of 60 pounds of food that was going to be given to a local food pantry.

– Cartersville Patch

 in December, the former treasurer of a children's outreach ministry now faces a second set of criminal charges.

This time, Nicole Abernathy, 36, of Emerson, is accused of embezzling from her employer, Law Premises on Northside Parkway in Atlanta,  Chief Tommy Culpepper said in a press release.

Today he announced Abernathy's later arrest and the charges—128 counts of forgery—related to the alleged theft of about $44,445 from the business. Police say Abernathy deposited the funds in her personal account at a local bank in Cartersville from February 2010 through November 2011.