#Westport CT– On Monday December 23, 2019 at approximately 4:11pm, officers responded to TD Bank, located at 185 Main Street, on a complaint of a female customer attempting to cash a fraudulent check in the amount of $988.00. Bank employees further reported that prior to this attempt, the bank had received a fraud alert email advising that this same female accompanied two other males had been involved in recent fraudulent activity in neighboring jurisdictions earlier that day. This informational message reported the suspects were traveling in a silver sport utility vehicle.
Upon officers’ arrival, the female suspect, later identified as Tanika Smith, was at the counter and was detained while the matter was further investigated. It was ultimately determined that the check that Smith was attempting to cash was a forgery and that the account from which she was attempting to draw funds did not exist. Other responding officers located a vehicle parked in the area that was occupied by two subjects which matched the description provided in the bank’s internal fraud alert message. Through investigation, officers were able to confirm that this vehicle and its two occupants, identified as Tavares Civers and Eric Robinson, were connected with Smith and that the three had presumably been working together. In the course of this investigation, a credit card was found to be in the possession of Civers which did not belong to him. Both Civers and Robinson were also found to be in possession of cash, consistent with making prior successful transactions.
Based on the investigation, all three individuals were taken into custody and transported to police headquarters for processing. Tanika Smith was charged with 53a-48(53a- 125a) Conspiracy to Commit Larceny in the Fifth Degree, 53a-49(53a-125a) Criminal Attempt at Larceny in the Fifth Degree and 53a-140 Forgery in the Third Degree. Her bond was set at $5000.00. Eric Robinson was charged with 53a-48(53a-125a) Conspiracy to Commit Larceny Fifth Degree and 53a-48(53a-140) Conspiracy to Commit Forgery Third Degree. His bond was set at $2,500.00. Tavares Civers was charged with 53a-48(53a-125a) Conspiracy to Commit Larceny Fifth Degree, 53a-48(53a-140) Conspiracy to Commit Forgery Third Degree and 53a- 128c Payment Card Theft. His bond was set at $5,000.00.
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