Suspect allegedly confesses

A woman suspected of running an identity theft operation out of her Kaimuki home allegedly admitted to police she had forged a stolen check and tried to get her sister to cash it.

Cathleen Freitas, 30, was charged Tuesday with multiple offenses, including second-degree forgery, manufacture of deceptive IDs and possession of a forgery device. She was arrested Monday at her Noeau Street home, where police seized computer equipment, two credit cards in other people's names and about 10 counterfeit Hawaii driver's licenses with her name and photo.

At a preliminary hearing in Honolulu District Court yesterday, police Detective Chris Lee said Freitas admitted that she had forged a stolen check and had given it to her sister to cash on Jan. 19 at the American Savings Bank in the Harding Avenue Foodland.

The sister tried to cash the check, which had been altered and made payable to the sister for $4,089. The teller became suspicious because the check was wet and the ink was running. Freitas was arrested after the teller called the owner of the account, who told him he had written the check that morning for $1,089 to pay off a credit card bill that he then placed in his mailbox.

Freitas said she was using the computer equipment in her home to manufacture driver's licenses with her picture but with personal information belonging to the owners of stolen checks she had in her possession, Lee said. She admitted to possessing two credit cards in other people's names but said the owner of one card knew she had it. She said she was present when the second credit card was stolen from the owner's mailbox, Lee said.

District Judge Leslie Hayashi found there was probable cause that Freitas committed the offenses she was charged with, and sent the case to Circuit Court. Freitas will be arraigned on Feb. 24. Bail was confirmed at $100,000.