MSU student Denita Dorsey, charged on Friday with stealing more than $100,000 by using other students' personal information, was arraigned Tuesday on more charges, this time for writing bad checks and committing larceny.
Dorsey, a 22-year-old communication senior, stood before Judge David Jordon in 54-B District Court and was charged with three counts of forging checks and one count of larceny.
Jordon read the charges against Dorsey, which included a larceny in March 2003 at Melrose Apartments, 16789 Chandler Road, and forging a check on three separate dates in April, totaling almost $430.
Tuesday's charges will be in addition to the four identity-theft and fraud charges Dorsey received on Friday, East Lansing police Capt. Juli Liebler said.
In that incident, Dorsey was charged with stealing personal information from several people, many of whom were student tenants of Melrose Apartments or parents who co-signed rental applications, Liebler said.
About five residents of Melrose Apartments have been contacted regarding the theft of their personal information, Liebler said, and police now are working to determine if it is linked to Dorsey's case. Liebler added that Dorsey has not yet been charged in those five cases.
Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III said cases of identity theft and fraud are becoming common.
"It's a growing area of crime," he said. "I don't know if it's the economy ? but we're seeing more and more of this."
Dunnings added that he isn't surprised a student was accused of committing an identity-theft crime.
"You'd be surprised some of the things students get up to," he said.
Liebler said Dorsey is accused of using residents' files to obtain information that could have allowed her to open bank accounts, apply for credit cards and get student loans while working as an employee at Melrose Apartments.
Dorsey is accused of using the money to buy new clothes, pay rent and cell phone bills, and in one incident, writing a check for $40,000 to buy a new car, Liebler said.
Dorsey was arraigned for that incident Friday in 54-B District Court and given a $100,000 bond. Liebler said, if convicted, Dorsey could face up to four years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine.
Tuesday's additional charges could lengthen the jail sentence, Liebler said.
"When there's that many, they may serve (the sentences) concurrently," Liebler said. "It certainly doesn't help her cause to have more.
"It depends on how it all plays out."
If convicted, Dorsey could face 14 years in prison for each forgery count, plus another four years and/or $2,000 for the larceny charge, Jordon said. He issued her an additional $10,000 bond.
Liebler said after Dorsey was accused of the forgery and larceny last spring, she was placed on diversion, which meant the crimes would be taken off her record if she were not charged with any more offenses.
But because Dorsey was charged on Friday for the fraud and identity theft, the forgery and larceny charges were put back on her record, which explains Tuesday's arraignment, Liebler said.
On Friday, John Kerrigan, the director of marketing and public relations for United Campus Housing Management in Austin, Texas, said representatives of Melrose Apartments have been working with police on the case and plan to help the possible victims.
"One on one, we'll sit with the actual victims," Kerrigan said. "Melrose is as much a victim as they are at this point."
Dorsey was terminated from her job at Melrose Apartments in December when it was believed she had been using personal information for her own benefit, Kerrigan said.
She will remain in the Ingham County Jail in Mason until her felony pretrial and preliminary examination, which Jordon scheduled for 1 p.m. April 7 and 9 a.m. April 8, respectively. Both will take place in 54-B District Court, 101 Linden St.
Liebler said officers are continuing to investigate the case and are working to find more people who might have become victims of the theft.
Sarah McEvilly can be reached at mcevilly@msu.edu.
