Two Washington County residents are in jail today on theft charges stemming from a school fundraiser.
Washington County Sheriff’s Office investigators have been working on a case after a report of a bank account being compromised. The victim reports they have had several transactions that were unauthorized on their bank history. The transactions were in the name of the subjects, Kristin Leigh Kirk, 40 and Justin Lee Thomas, 38, Gulf Power and the subjects PayPal account.
The victim was able to identify the subjects through Social Media accounts. The victim recalled they had previously purchased cookie dough from Kirk’s child who was selling it as a school fundraiser. The victim stated that the child had several checks and cash in their possession at the time of the purchase. The information on the check to purchase the cookie dough was believed to be used to hack the victim’s bank account by Kirk and Thomas.
School officials confirm the student selling cookie dough was Kirk’s child and report they received checks from the student but no cash. After further investigation, other victims reported purchasing cookie dough from the same child and they never received their order.
Washington County Sheriff’s Office Investigators attempted contact with Kirk at their residence. Thomas was inside the residence but would not come out to speak with investigators. At a later date, Thomas made contact with investigators via phone but made excuses as to why he couldn’t meet at the office. Kirk made claims of being incarcerated in Bay County Jail when the fraudulent transactions were made. Information obtained from the bank and Gulf Power were investigated and confirm the transactions were made prior to and following Kirk’s release of her incarceration.
Warrants were issued for the arrest of Thomas and Kirk.
On February 9th, both Thomas and Kirk were arrested and transported to the Washington County Jail on charges of criminal use of personal information and 2 counts of petit theft.
If you have any knowledge of crimes being committed, or tips, please contact the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 850-638-6111. You may also contact us anonymously by calling 850-638-TIPS (8477) or by email at tips@wcso.us.
