News

A new Alexandria program seeks to combat deed fraud by alerting property owners about new filings for their properties.

Alexandria Clerk of Circuit Court Greg Parks launched the VADeed Alert system last week to help protect property owners from deed fraud. Notifications are emailed to property owners when documents are filed in Alexandria land records.


News

A Maryland man faces felony charges after being arrested for trying to cash an altered check at a bank in Old Town.

The suspect from Oxon Hill was arrested inside the bank at the 100 block of S. Fairfax Street on Dec. 15 after trying to cash a check for $1,950, while the account holder told the branch manager that the check was, in fact, made out to the man who delivers her newspapers for $20.


News

The city issued a fraud alert yesterday after fake invoices were sent to customers using the Alexandria Permitting and Land Use System (APEX).

The city’s sent out an email on Wednesday (Sept. 18) stating that APEX users were being targeted. The city only allows permit applications through the system, and the city said that fake invoices are being mailed to customers.


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An Alexandria woman was scammed of more than $100,000 from a suspect who claimed to be a representative of the U.S. Social Security Administration, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.

The victim received an email last October from an individual claiming to work for SSA informing her that “her account was being suspended due to fraudulent activity and listed a phone number to contact,” according to the search warrant affidavit.


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A 32-year-old man from the Groveton area of Fairfax County, just south of Alexandria, pleaded guilty yesterday to defrauding the government of more than $1.4 million in fraudulent pandemic-related PPP loans and unemployment benefits.

George Mensah, Jr., 32, admitted in federal court to wire and mail fraud by collecting fees with two unnamed conspirators through CashApp, Zelle and bank transfers, according to court records. The scheme ran from Oct. 2020 to Sept. 2021, during which time Mensah admitted to preparing dozens of fake PPP loans and unemployment insurance claims under the CARES Act.


News

Multiple people from DC, Maryland and Virginia have been charged with felonies in Alexandria within the last several months as part of an alleged scheme to get driver’s and commercial driver’s licenses with forged documents, ALXnow has learned.

On May 5, 2022, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles discovered fraudulent out-of-state driving records being used to get driver’s licenses and commercial driver’s licenses, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit filed in the Alexandria Circuit Court by DMV’s law enforcement division.


News

A 56-year-old Alexandria woman was sentenced to 41 months in prison for ordering more than $600,000 in cell phones through her former employer, the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington, and keeping the money.

The former office manager at YMCA-DC was sentenced Thursday, according to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice. According to court documents, she worked at YMCA-DC from 2007 until her termination in May 2019.


News

(Updated at 10:25 a.m.) An Arlington defense attorney has been arrested and charged with allegedly stealing credit cards from an Alexandria office building multiple times last year.

The attorney is charged with credit card theft and credit card fraud, both as felonies, and another credit card fraud misdemeanor charge.


News

A teller at the Alexandria DMV Customer Service Center (2681 Mill Road) has been charged with credit card fraud after allegedly using a stolen Visa gift card to pay for the license renewal of a friend.

The 40-year-old woman was arrested on credit card fraud charges on September 2, more than three months after a wallet with credit cards was stolen from a car in Loudoun County.


News

An Alexandria couple pleaded guilty to conspiracy in relation to filing false tax claims for their Maryland-based auto body repair shop, and have been ordered to pay $2.2 million in restitution.

Ercin Kalender, 60, and Lizette Kalender, 44, own Butch’s Auto Body in Capital Heights, and were ordered to pay the $2.2 million as part of their plea agreement, according to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice.


News

Alexandria Police are looking for a man who bought a luxury car with a fake driver’s license at Lindsay Lexus of Alexandria.

On August 29, the suspect walked into the dealership and picked out a 2021 Lexus LS400 and provided the salesperson with an Oklahoma driver’s license, according to police. The customer also allegedly told the salesperson that he’d recently relocated from Oklahoma to Richmond.


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