FLA Man Tries To Steal Plainfield School Employee’s Salary: PD

PLAINFIELD, CT — A Florida man is accused of trying to steal money by pretending to be a local public school employee and asking to change their direct deposit information.

Jack Hennel Hawkins, 33, of Milton, Florida, has been charged on a warrant with third-degree identity theft and criminal attempt to commit fifth-degree larceny, police announced Thursday.

Police said they received a report in January of an attempted larceny involving the school employee’s direct deposit.

An individual posed as the employee and contacted the Plainfield Public Schools’ payroll department and asked about changing their direct deposit information, police said.

Police obtained a search warrant for financial records associated with the bank account number used in the attempted theft, which led to the identification of Hawkins as a suspect, according to police.

With the help of the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office, Hawkins was taken into custody in Florida on Sept. 25. Plainfield police traveled to Florida to take him into custody on Oct. 14, and Hawkins was flown to Connecticut to face the charges here.

Hawkins was held overnight on a court set bond of $5,000, and he is due to be arraigned today at the Judicial District of Windham.