Detroit Woman Charged for Stealing Trenton Resident's Identity
The following information was supplied by the Trenton Police Department. Where arrests or charges are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.
A 61-year-old Detroit woman could face more than 50 years in prison for allegedly stealing the identity of a Trenton resident.
Detective Sgt. Mark Enright of the Trenton Police Department arrested Julie Loretta Grahm as she attempted to pick up eyeglasses she had ordered using a counterfeit check in the resident’s name.
Grahm is charged with three counts of felony uttering and publishing. Each count carries with it a prison sentence of up to 14 years. She is also charged with one count of identity theft, which carries a five-year sentence.
Grahm, a habitual offender, has already spent time in prison for similar offenses including embezzlement, counterfeiting and forgery according to Enright.
She was arraigned on Jan. 6 and entered a plea of not guilty. Bond was set at 10 percent of $75,000.
Enright was unaware if the woman had posted bond at press time.
A preliminary examination of the evidence is scheduled for Jan. 17 at 33rd District Court in Woodhaven.
Enright said the woman was counterfeiting and presenting checks throughout the Detroit metropolitan area after she obtained the personal information of a Trenton resident.
The woman spent more than $6,000 from Dec. 20-24.
The resident received a notification from her credit union that checks had been cashed in her name all over southeastern Michigan at stores such as Staples, Big Lots and Toys R Us, according to Enright.
Grahm had also purchased an eye exam and ordered two pairs of eyeglasses from Pro Vision Center in Warren.
When Grahm returned to the store to pick up the eyeglasses Enright, who was waiting for her in a back room of the store, arrested her.
Enright said Grahm had the names and personal information of several other people in her possession at the time of her arrest.
“She was apparently in the process of doing this again,” Enright said.
He added Grahm obtained the information from an unknown male in Detroit.
Enright said the personal information was alarmingly easy to obtain.
“It was easy for her to do,” Enright said. “You could do it. Anybody could do it.”
For questions on the police blotter, email natestemen@patch.com.
Sophie Radakovich
9:09 am on Wednesday, January 11, 2012
So how do we protect ourselves from this kind of identity theft? How was the woman's information obtained.
Kudos to the credit union for spotting this crime!
Nate Stemen
10:24 am on Wednesday, January 11, 2012
@Sophie Radakovich: Sadly, there is not a specific way to protect yourself from this type of crime according to Sgt. Mark Enright. The resident's information was stolen via a check she wrote to pay for an item. We all write checks for items everyday and we trust the person accepting the check wont use it fraudulently. You can't use the internet to pay for everything, unfortunately.
William Riley
12:26 am on Thursday, January 12, 2012
Here we go again 33rd district court! another case of someone with a lengthy record record being allowed to walk after paying 10% of a reasonably high bond. Again I would be surprised if she shows up for her hearing. We will probably have to wait untill she is picked up after being stopped for a traffic violation, if we are lucky!