Police said two Scranton men stole money from a CashApp account.
Facing charges are Caleb Smith, 1017 Lafayette St., and John David Williams, whose address is listed only as Scranton.
Gabriel Perez told police that his ex-wife, Ashley Grushinski, and two men moved things out of his residence on March 30 and 31 while he was at work, and he returned home to find several items missing — including two Samsung cellphones, according to a criminal complaint.
Perez said he then began to get notifications on his phone regarding unauthorized activity on his CashApp and banking accounts.
Perez observed that two money transfers totaling $5,050 were sent from his CashApp account to a CashApp account with the vanity name “Chris Williams” associated with the cashtag “$getbackjay27,” officers said.
Perez provided screen shots for the fraudulent activity, including a $5,000 transfer from Perez’s CashApp cash balance to the suspect account on March 30 at 5:44 p.m. and a $50 transfer at 5:46 p.m.
When Perez contacted CashApp to report the fraudulent activity, a representative told him the account holder name on $getbackjay27 was John David Williams.
Grushinski told Perez that “Jay” — later identified as Williams — told her he would give the money back to Perez if he did not file a complaint with police, according to the criminal complaint.
On March 31, Grushinski informed police she spoke to Smith on the phone following the theft and he told her that he and “Jay” took the money from Perez’s CashApp account and split it, officers said. Smith added they would give the money back if Perez agreed to drop the investigation, police added.
Around 4:17 p.m. on March 31, during a call recorded by police, Perez asked Smith when he was going to get the money back that he stole from him, according to the criminal complaint. Smith said he would text him and disconnected from the call.
About a minute later, Perez received a text message from Smith stating “Tmmrw all,” police said.
On April 1, Perez told police that Invicta watches valued at $795 and $1,595 were also stolen from his apartment, officers said.
Then, on April 2, Perez informed police that he did not receive any money from Williams or Smith, according to the criminal complaint.
Perez forwarded screenshots of a conversation between Grushinski and Smith which indicated Smith was at the Sleep Inn in Dunmore, police said.
Grushinski noted Smith told her over the phone that he and Williams used the stolen money to purchase a pound of marijuana and were working on selling it to pay Perez back, officers said.
When officers responded to the Sleep Inn, the hotel manager verified Smith was staying in Room 209, according to the criminal complaint.
Once Smith answered the door, Scranton Patrolman Joseph Janczak detained him in handcuffs, and officers could smell the odor of marijuana, police said.
After Janczak informed Smith that he was being detained as part of a theft investigation, Smith said he was aware of the theft but didn’t have anything to do with it and granted officers permission to search the room.
Janczak found a clear sandwich bag inside a safe containing small zip bags full of chunky white powder, believed to be crack cocaine, police said.
Smith was transported to Scranton Police Headquarters, where he agreed to speak to officers and granted permission for them to search his phone, according to the criminal complaint.
Janczak observed CashApp deposits time-stamped March 30 at 6:50 p.m. — approximately one hour after the theft occurred — from CashApp user “Chris Williams”, Cashtag: $getbackjay27 for $2,384.51. The note on the deposit indicated the money was for “bills,” police said.
Janczak reviewed text messages from March 31 in which Williams indicated he would have the “3050” to pay back by April 1 and Smith replied that he had “2,” officers said.
Smith told police he thought the money sent to him by Williams was for Grushinski and later found out the money was stolen from Perez, according to the criminal complaint.
Janczak processed 18.95 grams of suspected crack cocaine, individually packed in 52 zip bags, which later tested positive, police said.
Police charged Smith with theft by unlawful taking, two counts of access device fraud, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Smith remains in Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $15,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 16 at 9 a.m.
Williams faces charges of theft by unlawful taking and two counts of access device fraud. Information on his hearing was not available.