The following is a sample of recent Charles County Sheriff’s Office investigations. For information about crimes not included in this report, visit CrimeReports.com and search by county, city, zip code or street address. 

CCSO Detectives Charge Two Women in Home Rental Fraud Scam

Charles County Sheriff’s detectives have charged Sherrie Hackett, 42, of Bowie and Julia Turner, 50, of District Heights in connection with fraudulently renting homes.  Both women targeted people who were looking for homes to rent. They contacted prospective renters – either in person or via the internet – and  pretended to be representatives of the homeowner. They looked for renters who had bad credit or no credit and indicated they could get them in a rental home without a credit check. The only stipulation was the renters would have to pay in cash and give at least two months’ rent up front, in addition to a security deposit. From that point, the renters contacted the suspects on a monthly basis and paid rent in cash or money orders.

Since March of this year, two families signed paperwork with the women, thinking the papers were a legal lease agreement. The victims included families with children who had been living at various addresses, sometimes motels, and were looking for a better place to live.

It appears the vacant houses had been broken into and the locks were changed. Ms. Hackett and Ms. Turner then gave the renters the new key. In both houses, the electricity had been turned on and the water worked.

Detectives believe Hackett and Turner could be responsible for additional home rental frauds. Sherrie Hackett uses several aliases: Monique, Darren, Emoni Jackson, Tiffany Bolden, Tanya Bowman and Tanya Perkins.  Her nickname is Pebbles.

Both women have been charged on a criminal summons with forgery, fraud, theft and identity theft.  Anyone with additional information or those who believe they may have been victims of this fraud are asked to call Detective C. Gilroy of the Charles County Sheriff’s Office, Criminal Investigations Division at (301) 609-6484.

Turner, Julia Ann Edwards

Julia Turner

Hackett, Sherrie

Sherrie Hackett

 

Charles County Crime Solvers offers rewards of up to $1,000 for information that leads to the arrest or indictment of a person responsible for a crime in Charles County. Anyone with information about an unsolved crime or the location of a fugitive may contact Charles County Crime Solvers by calling 1-866-411-TIPS, texting CHARLES + the tip to CRIMES (274637) or submitting tips online at tipsubmit.com. All individuals who provide tips through Crime Solvers will remain anonymous. Learn more at the CCSO’s website.

The Charles County Sheriff’s Office is a full-service law enforcement agency comprised of more than 600 police, corrections and civilian personnel responsible for protecting more than 150,000 residents. The CCSO was accredited by the Commission on the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) in 2001 and has been designated as a CALEA Gold Standard of Excellence agency since 2011. Established in 1658, the CCSO is one of the oldest law enforcement agencies in the United States. For more information, visit www.ccso.us.      

Media Contact
Diane Richardson
301-609-6557
richardsond@ccso.us