PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (EYT) – A Punxsutawney man was recently charged with identity theft after he allegedly used a woman’s information to buy a computer in April 2016.
Court documents indicate that 72-year-old Michael Leonard Lellock, of Punxsutawney, was issued a summons from District Judge Douglas Chambers’ office on Tuesday, November 28, on a third-degree felony charge of identity theft.
Lellock’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 19.
According to the criminal complaint filed by Punxsutawney-based State Trooper Randy Powell, the victim told State Trooper David Kostok that in April 2016, she returned home to find a package at her door. When she opened it, she found it had a cell phone from Fingerhut. She hadn’t ordered the phone, though, and the delivery service retrieved the package.
Several weeks later, the victim said she received phone calls from Web Bank stating she owed them money. The woman then received a statement from Fingerhut in the amount of $838.69. When she called Fingerhut, she was told an account in her name had been opened April 16, 2016 and a phone and computer were purchased.
While the phone had been returned, the computer was picked up in Falls Creek. The victim said she never ordered either item or authorized anyone to open an account in her name.
On August 24, 2017, police served a search warrant at Lellock’s home where a packing slip from Fingerhut was found. The slip listed the victim’s name and address as the shipping location. The invoice was dated April 16, 2016 for an Asus Flip R554 computer valued at $729.87.
Also found at Lellock’s residence was the shipping box for the computer and the label had the victim’s information, including a telephone number.
November 6, 2017, Tpr. Randy Powell spoke with the victim, who confirmed her married name that she was using at the time of the incident. She also said the phone number listed on the shipping box is that of her sister, who she is living with.
Tpr. Powell then checked the tracking number on the shipping company’s website and determined that the package was picked up in Falls Creek April 20, 2017, with the received by name as “Lellock”. The order number on the box also matched the packing slip which corresponded to the customer number provided by Fingerhut for the victim’s account.
Lellock also has several pending charges against him in Jefferson County for Megan’s Law violations for failure to register with State Police, identity theft and receiving stolen property.
He remains in the Jefferson County Jail on $250,000 cash bail.
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