Police: Forged check cashed at New Kensington supermarket prompts charity to suspend program

A charitable organization in McKeesport suspended its program to help people get state photo ID cards after one of its clients was accused of altering a check they gave her and cashing it at a New Kensington supermarket, according to authorities.

Eboni Deshawn Sanders, 42, of the 500 block of Park Avenue in Clairton was charged by New Kensington police Sept. 7 with a felony count of forgery along with counts of theft and writing bad checks.

Sanders was released from custody following her arrest. She waived her right to a preliminary hearing Sept. 21 before District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr., who ordered her to stand trial on the charges in Westmoreland County Court.

A manager at the Golden Dawn supermarket on Freeport Road reported to police that, on July 31, Sanders endorsed a check written out to her for $472.50 from The Intersection Inc. and used her state-issued photo identification card when she cashed it, according to a criminal complaint.

On Aug. 11, the store was notified by its bank that the check Sanders cashed was a fake and charged them a $20 processing fee, police said.

The Intersection is a nonprofit organization founded by the Catholic Sisters of Western PA, which operates a food pantry in McKeesport. It provides other social services to needy people, including paying the fee for them to get a state-issued ID card, the complaint said.

The charity’s director told police the organization was notified by its bank that three checks had been forged using its name, the complaint said.

Police asked whether the organization issued a check to Sanders for $472.50, but the director told them clients, including Sanders, were given checks for $42.50 made out to the state Department of Transportation so they could pay for their photo ID.

The director told police that Sanders was issued two checks made out to PennDOT on July 25, each for $42.50, and both had been altered when they were returned by the bank.

Police said one of the bogus checks the charity got back from its bank had the same number as the one Sanders cashed at the Golden Dawn.

The Intersection’s director told police that because of the problems with their checks being altered by clients, they suspended the program, according to the complaint.