Pocono Township officers were called to First National Bank at 2871 Route 611 in Tannersville at about 2:49 p.m. after employees reported a suspected fraud attempt. Staff said the man involved had left through a side door wearing a red polo shirt. Police say officers found him nearby after he had removed the shirt and that he ran when they ordered him to stop.
David J. Yorwerth, 60, of New Haven, Connecticut, was arrested Sept. 23 following the foot pursuit. The Pocono Township Police Department charged him with identity theft, forgery, attempted theft by deception, evading arrest or detention on foot and access device fraud.
A Pennsylvania court docket sets Yorwerth’s monetary bail at $50,000 and lists him as confined at Monroe County Prison because bail had not been posted. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 7.
The Pennsylvania arrest comes during two other pending Connecticut bank-related cases. Court records independently confirm a Feb. 27 Derby arrest involving identity theft and forgery allegations and an Aug. 19 Ridgefield arrest involving a separate investigation into unauthorized bank withdrawals.
Pennsylvania Court Records List Five Charges and $50,000 Bail
The Pennsylvania court docket identifies the case as MJ-43303-CR-0000296-2026 and lists Pocono Township Police as the arresting agency. The complaint and incident number is 2026-00011048.
The docket lists second-degree felony counts of identity theft and forgery, a third-degree felony count of attempted theft by deception, a third-degree felony count of evading arrest or detention on foot and a misdemeanor access device fraud charge.
Monetary bail was set at $50,000 on Sept. 23. The docket lists Yorwerth at Monroe County Prison because he was unable to post bail and schedules a preliminary hearing for Oct. 7 before Magisterial District Judge Daniel Kresge.
A Derby Bank Employee Had Recognized Him Months Earlier
Connecticut court records show Yorwerth was arrested Feb. 27 in a Derby case, docket A05D-CR26-0196075-S. The pending charges include first-degree forgery, third-degree identity theft, criminal impersonation, interfering with an officer and conspiracy counts involving forgery, identity theft and criminal impersonation.
According to reporting based on Derby police’s release, a Liberty Bank employee recognized Yorwerth as someone suspected in an earlier attempt to fraudulently open an account at another Liberty Bank branch in North Haven.
Officers detained Yorwerth and said they found forged and fraudulent identification documents in his possession. Investigators later identified 28-year-old Taylor Greene as a second suspect after reviewing surveillance footage and electronic evidence.
Derby police credited the bank employee’s recognition and quick response with preventing a potential financial loss. The current court record lists the case as awaiting plea, with the next court date scheduled for Oct. 27.
A Fake Driver’s License Became Evidence in a $27,100 Investigation
A separate Ridgefield investigation began after a resident reported unauthorized withdrawals from a bank account in February. Investigators later alleged that three withdrawals totaled $27,100.
In March, the victim received a driver’s license in the mail containing the victim’s personal information but another man’s photograph. According to CT Insider’s review of the warrant, a pedestrian had found the forged license near a bus stop in Brooklyn and mailed it to the person whose identity appeared on it.
CT Insider reported that surveillance footage from three Brooklyn bank branches allegedly showed Yorwerth using the forged license while making withdrawals and signing withdrawal slips in the victim’s name. Investigators also compared clothing visible in the footage with images associated with Yorwerth.
The current Connecticut court record identifies the Ridgefield case as D03D-CR26-0202443-S. It lists first-degree forgery, first-degree identity theft, first-degree larceny and criminal impersonation charges. Yorwerth has entered not guilty pleas to all four counts, and the case is scheduled for a pretrial appearance Oct. 19.
Unauthorized Bank Withdrawals Can Signal Identity Theft
The Federal Trade Commission lists bank-account withdrawals a customer did not make as a possible sign of identity theft. The agency recommends regularly reviewing bank statements for activity that does not belong to the account holder.
Credit monitoring alone will not necessarily reveal this kind of loss. The FTC says credit-monitoring services generally do not alert customers when someone withdraws money directly from a bank account, making account statements an important separate check.
People who discover that their personal or financial information has been misused can report the identity theft through IdentityTheft.gov. The service creates a recovery plan based on the accounts or information affected and provides steps and documents for addressing the misuse.
The Pennsylvania and Connecticut charges remain pending. Yorwerth is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.