HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Maryland woman will serve nearly four years in prison for writing hundreds of fraudulent checks at more than two dozen stores, including some in Central Pennsylvania.
Lucy Annette Alexander, 37, was sentenced Wednesday to a prison term of 46 months, followed by 60 months of supervised release, by U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer P. Wilson. Alexander had previously pleaded guilty to bank fraud in May 2023.
Wilson also ordered Alexander to pay $305,219.28 in restitution, according to U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam.
According to Karam, Alexander admitted that between August 2012 and 2021, she wrote hundreds of checks at retail store locations, including PetSmart, Sears, Dollar Tree, Weis Markets (or Weis Pharmacy), Food Lion, MOM’s Organic Market, Giant Food, Harris Teeter, The Home Depot, Sally Beauty, Advance Auto Parts, Costco, Barnes & Noble, Hobby Lobby, BJ’s Wholesale Club, CVS Pharmacy, Party City, SHOE SHOW, Bed Bath & Beyond, Roses Discount Store, and others.
The bank accounts from which Alexander wrote these checks were already closed and therefore did not have adequate funds to cover purchases at the above retail stores, Karam said.
In total, Alexander wrote over $300,000 in fraudulent checks during this time period.
In May 2020, Alexander also wrote and used seven checks from a Chase Bank account for a total of over $17,000, knowing that her account had insufficient funds to cover these checks, Karam said. These checks were used to purchase goods at Weis Markets, Giant Food, and Roses Discount Store locations in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ravi Romel Sharma prosecuted the case.
