Former Louisiana Town Employee Arrested, Accused of Having People Send Fines to Her Cash App
A former employee of the Town of Washington, Louisiana has been charged with theft after she allegedly conned people into sending fines to her personal Cash App account.
According to a release from the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office, Sheriff Bobby J. Guidroz claims his team received a complaint from an employee of the Town of Washington that a former colleague had stolen from the town.
As Guidroz looked into the issue, he learned that a man contacted the Town of Washington in relation to a traffic citation that he received in March of 2018. The man was sent to collections for nonpayment, although he explained to the current town clerk that he made a payment via Cash App to a former Town of Washington employee by the name of Erica after stating that he couldn't come in to pay his fine and asking about alternative payment methods.
Erica advised him that payment can be made via Cash App. Erica provided her personal Cash App account ID to the victim and the victim paid $668.00 on March 5, 2018. The victim had a confirmation from Cash App that the transaction was completed.
The victim then explained that due to the fact that the funds he paid to Erica's personal Cash App were never used to pay his citation, not only was he sent to collections, but his Louisiana driver's license was suspended due to nonpayment.
Police gained access to documentation of the former Town of Washington employee's Cash App account, not only were they able to confirm that the ID that the victim was given for the $668 payment belonged to Erica Zacharie but it was quickly realized that he wasn't the only person that she received citation payments from.
Other documentation from Cash App also confirmed that Erica Zacharie received citation payments from several other people whose citation payments should have been submitted to the Town of Washington.
Zacharie denied having a Cash App account when she was questioned by detectives and also denied taking citation payments from any victims.
Police issued an arrest warrant for Erica Shauntrell Zacharie for theft and malfeasance in office on March 17, 2023, and seven days later she turned herself in on March 25, 2023, at the St. Landry Parish Jail.
Zacharie was booked on the charges in the warrant issued for her arrest.