Police arrest New York man at Portage bank for fraud, identity deception

Portage police recently took a Brooklyn, New York man into custody after he tried to withdraw $3,500 from the bank account of a man in Texas who told investigators he’s lost $29,000 to bank fraud.

Caifa Li, 25, was charged Monday in Porter Superior Court with identity theft, a Level 6 felony, and fraud, a Class A misdemeanor, according to online court records. His bond was set at $3,500 cash and $25,000 surety.

Portage police were called around 1:54 p.m. on Friday to Chase Bank, 3275 Willowcreek Road, for a report of a man attempting to withdraw money out of an account using fraudulent identification, according to a police report.

Police said a bank teller gave them a Texas identification card and a bank card but the person on the ID didn’t look like Li. Li told police he only spoke Chinese and began using a translator app on his cellphone to communicate with officers. He pointed to the ID when asked his name.

A bank representative told police Li presented a teller with a withdrawal form for $3,500, which set off an alert. Further investigation by the bank revealed the account Li was trying to make a withdrawal from had been flagged for fraud for $3,500, and that several previous transactions took place on the bank’s mobile app.

The bank representative told police he contacted the manager of the Chase bank in Texas who knew the account owner there and confirmed that he was not in Indiana.

Police used a translation app to communicate with Li and asked how he got to the Portage branch and where he was from. Li first told police he was from California and then said Texas, and that he arrived at the bank by taxi after flying into Chicago on business.

Police said Li gave incomplete answers about using the bank’s mobile app and using his business phone because he left his personal phone at home, and couldn’t confirm his address or birth date.

Portage police transported Li to jail, where officers found a wallet in his coat pocket with his identification card from New York, which looked like him. He confirmed to police that was his identity. Police also said they found a second bank card with another person’s name on it and $656 in cash.

The Texas man told police he received notification of withdrawal from one Chase account for $3,500 that he did not authorize, and a second Chase account had a pending charge of $3,500. A separate transaction included a forged check from the man’s account for $22,000.