Mugshot of Javier Crispin. By. THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT
ST. CROIX — A 30-year-old resident of Smithfield is facing a cumulative maximum sentence of forty years after being charged for cashing counterfeit checks.
Javier Crispin was arrested by detectives of the VIPD Economic Crime Unit during the afternoon of September 13, after authorities were contacted by the manager of a local financial institution in April. According to the probable cause fact sheet, the official contacted the Economic Crime Unit in reference to a complaint of passing forged bills or notes. The manager reported that a customer identified as Javier Crispin had deposited two checks through remote deposit capture into his personal account, both of which were returned as ‘altered/ fictitious or counterfeit’. This subsequently triggered an investigation into Crispin’s financial transactions at the institution and an examination of the checks in question.
Based on the findings and the observations of senior staff at the financial institution, it is alleged that Crispin knowingly allowed two counterfeit checks to be deposited into his account. According to police, both checks were deposited remotely and came from two different establishments where Crispin was not employed.
It is further alleged that the accused withdrew a total of $1,440 prior to the total amount of the checks being cleared. As a result, he is charged with passing forged bills or notes, grand larceny, forgery, and obtaining money by false pretense. Each of the four offenses carry a maximum sentence of ten years imprisonment.
While bail was initially set at $20,000, Crispin was reportedly unable to post bail and was thus turned over to police custody pending his advisement hearing. On Wednesday, Public Defender Leslie Davis requested that Crispin be allowed to post $1000 and the remainder be set as an unsecured bond signed by both the defendant and a third party custodian.
Further bail conditions recommended by Davis include that the accused have no direct or indirect contact with any witnesses, that he maintain regular contact with his attorney and be present for all scheduled court appearances. Attorney Jasmine Griffin expressed that the people found the identified custodian to be suitable and that there were no objections to the bail conditions suggested by Davis. While Griffin did request that the defendant post 1 percent of the bail in cash — $2000 — Davis indicated that Crispin could only access a maximum of $1,500 at the time. The motion for bail was subsequently granted by Judge Darryl Donohue who agreed to the aforementioned conditions.
