A federal grand jury in Bridgeport has indicted Madisyn Pettaway, 30, of Newark, New Jersey, on charges related to the attempted deposit of a stolen U.S. Treasury check at a Connecticut credit union.
According to court documents, authorities allege that on August 27, 2024, Pettaway used a stolen identity and a fraudulent New Jersey driver’s license to open an account at Charter Oak Federal Credit Union. On September 13, 2024, she allegedly tried to deposit a U.S. Treasury check worth $410,085.48 into the account. The credit union did not accept the deposit.
Prosecutors further allege that in June 2025, Pettaway opened another account at Charter Oak FCU under a different fraudulent identity. On July 28, 2025, East Lyme Police arrested Pettaway on state charges. At the time of her arrest, she was reportedly in possession of a fake New York driver’s license and three debit cards linked to the fraudulent identity. She was later arrested on a federal criminal complaint on August 20, 2025.
The indictment returned on September 3 charges Pettaway with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud—each carrying a maximum prison sentence of 30 years—as well as theft of government property (maximum term of imprisonment: 10 years), and aggravated identity theft (mandatory consecutive term: two years).
Pettaway appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria E. Garcia in New Haven and was released on a $100,000 bond.
“U.S. Attorney Sullivan stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The investigation involves the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the East Lyme Police Department, and the Montville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Chang is prosecuting the case.
