Couple Allegedly Pieced Together Shredded Checks To Steal $16K From 20 Santa Clarita Victims

CASTAIC (CBS) — A Newhall woman will be arraigned Wednesday on charges of piecing together shredded checks police say she and her boyfriend found in a trash bin to counterfeit checks and steal more than $16,000 from 20 victims, including a church.

Detectives searched the Newhall home of Grant Lind, 49, and his girlfriend Tammy Combe, 47, where they found hundreds of bank account numbers, fictitious and stolen IDs, check manufacturing equipment, identity profiles and counterfeit checks, according to officials.

The couple's alleged scheme first came to light when a Castaic church reported its bank account information was stolen and used to counterfeit checks. About $1,100 was stolen from the church's account in the form of checks cashed in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

A total of more than $16,000 was stolen from 20 different victims, who were all Santa Clarita Valley residents and businesses.

Detectives say couple admitted to dumpster diving at Valencia Self Storage in Valencia and stealing hundreds of partially-shredded checks, which they reassembled to access the routing and bank account numbers. Detectives say they used the information to manufacture more than 30 counterfeit checks, which they used throughout the Santa Clarita and San Fernando Valleys in Los Angeles County and in the Simi Valley area in Ventura County.

Linde and Combe have been charged with 45 felony counts of identity theft, forgery, burglary, grand theft, receiving stolen property, among other charges.

Lind is currently being held in the Ventura County Jail system for similar charges on $850,000 bail.

Combe, is being held on $50,000 bail and is set to be arraigned Wednesday.