Woman charged with theft of $500K, identity

RUMSON - A borough resident was indicted for allegedly stealing more than $500,000 and her 87-year-old mother's identity, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

A Monmouth County Grand Jury returned a 36-count indictment against Mary E. Kohler, 46, of Rumson, Dec. 31 and if convicted on all charges, she could face a maximum prison sentence of up to 193 years, according to the prosecutor's office.

Kohler was charged with multiple counts of second- and third-degree theft by deception, second-degree imperson- ation or identity theft, second- and thirddegree bad checks, third- and fourth-degree forgery, third-degree theft of services and fourth-degree false statements in procuring a credit card, according to the a press release from the prosecutor's office.

An investigation conducted by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office and the Spring Lake Heights Police Department revealed that from August 2006 to February 2007 Kohler allegedly unlawfully used her mother's identification to obtain various lines of credit, according to the press release.

"Kohler engaged in a protracted course of purposeful criminal conduct specifically designed to victimize her mother as well as lending institutions and merchants. Fraudulent activity such as this affects not only the identified victims but also the general public," said Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin in the press release.

The investigation began after Kohler's mother ordered a credit check, which revealed various lines of fraudulently, opened credit, according to the Prosecutor's Office.

The victim had been receiving telephone calls from various credit card companies, collection agencies and lending institutions demanding payment, according to the press release.

The ensuing investigation uncovered various allegedly unlawful actions by Kohler, including fraudulently obtaining retail credit cards and bank credit cards and using her mother's identifying information to finance a 2007 Mercedes- Benz convertible worth more than $55,000, according to the Prosecutor's Office.

The investigation also revealed that Kohler allegedly passed numerous bad checks to various merchants throughout Monmouth County, according to the release.

Kohler generated fraudulent checks from nonexistent accounts and passed them to purchase various items, such as chandeliers, party rental goods, cars, furniture, antiques and paintings, according to the prosecutor's office.

Kohler also passed bad checks to her landlord for rent totaling more than $50,000, according to the prosecutor's office.

In one, three-day period, Kohler allegedly passed more than $20,000 worth of fraudulent checks to a check-cashing businesses.

As part of the fraudulent scheme, Kohler also allegedly forged checks and various documents in her mother's name, according to the press release.

The total amount of the theft is in excess of $500,000, according to the prosecutor's office.

Kohler was arrested on May 15, 2007 as a result of the investigation, and she has since been held at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, Freehold Township, in lieu of bail, which was set at $85,000, according to the press release.