Police in New York are searching for a Derby woman accused of withdrawing thousands of dollars from the bank accounts of a dying fashion executive and opening credit cards in her name.
New York State Police have identified the woman as Erin O'Hanlon, 34, of Minerva Street in Derby. Police said a member of the public tipped them off after seeing surveillance footage from the bank on social media.
Those images show a woman in sunglasses taking out more than $9,000 from Kate Sullivan's bank accounts on Long Island, according to police.
After making the withdrawals, O'Hanlon allegedly went to New Haven, where police say she opened store cards in the dying woman's name and racked up bills worth nearly $4,000.
O'Hanlon is wanted by several agencies, including New York State Police, for felonies such as grand larceny and first-degree identity theft. New York State Police said O'Hanlon may be in the area of New York City.
Her fiance admitted Tuesday night that he doesn't know her whereabouts either. He declined to comment on the case except to say, "Just that I love her and I wish I knew where she was."
The chief investigator in the case told NBC New York that O'Hanlon has been linked to seven other crimes in New York and may have fraudulently withdrawn more than $40,000, then spent it using fake credit cards.
She may have a criminal record in Connecticut as well. According to online court records, a woman named Erin O'Hanlon who was born in 1981 has been convicted of several misdemeanor charges out of Trumbull and Waterbury, including sixth-degree larceny and failure to appear. She was sentenced to two years of probation on April 23.
New York State Police said they have been in touch with police departments in surrounding states, asking them to check their case logs for O'Hanlon's name.
Investigators said more than anything, they want closure for the Sullivan family.
Sullivan's sister, Sarah, said she uncovered the fraud a week before Kate Sullivan died of cancer last September. She helped spread the word online about her sister's identity thief.
"Unfortunately, I just couldn't let it go, and now I'm glad I didn't, because I'm actually really happy that all these other cases are going to be solved, that she's going to be stopped and we're going to have a little bit of closure," Sarah Sullivan said.
Anyone with information on her whereabouts is urged to call the New York State Police Troop L Major Case Unit at 631-756-3300.
