On January 20, 2026, at approximately 6:52 P.M., St. Louis Park Police Officers conducted a welfare check at a residence in the area of 22nd St. W in St. Louis Park, Hennepin County, Minnesota. Officers made contact with a woman with the initials R. T., hereafter Victim, [NAME REDACTED] was in distress due to unauthorized transactions on her Wells Fargo debit card that had resulted in a negative balance on her bank account. Victim [NAME REDACTED] had met a woman named EVE KATHERINE NEWMAN, hereafter Defendant, about 2 years prior when they lived together at a previous residence.
Victim had given Defendant her debit card so that Defendant could cash a check for Victim in fall of 2025. Victim stated that Defendant never returned the debit card and that transactions were made on her account without her permission, causing a negative balance. Victim provided Officers with Defendant’s name, contact information, and contact photo. Officers were able to confirm Defendant’s identity via law enforcement databases. Victim estimated that the total loss in her account was approximately $3,000.00. Officers also spoke with Victim’s son, whose initials are S. L. T., and he confirmed that Victim’s debit card had been missing since November of 2025 and Victim had showed him the negative balance on her account.
S. L. T. Had contacted Defendant requesting that she return Victim’s card, but Defendant texted back that she could no longer be friends with Victim. Victim gave Officers permission to look at some of her bank statements, and Officers noted that one bank statement from November 15, 2025, showed that Victim had a balance of over $3,000.00 in her bank account. The statement also showed a check deposited in her account for $322, and Victim [NAME REDACTED] did provide her with a receipt for approximately $300 for the deposited check.
On January 27, 2026, Officers spoke Defendant over the phone. Defendant made the following statements to Officers: Defendant has known Victim for approximately 2-3 years, and they met while living at the same residence. In January, Defendant sent a text to Victim’s son saying she could no longer visit with or help Victim. Defendant initially stated that she had permission to use Victim’s debit card to make purchases for Victim but then admitted to Officers that this statement was not honest. Defendant changed her statement, saying that she had permission to use the debit card to deposit the initial check for Victim, but then used the card to make purchases for herself without authorization or permission from Victim.
Defendant believed she had purchased approximately $1,500 worth of items on the debit card without authorization. Defendant had mailed the debit card back to Victim. After speaking with Defendant, Officers contacted S. L. T., who reported that Victim’s debit card had now been returned to her via mail. S. L. T. Also provided Officers with Victim’s bank statements, in which he highlighted the fraudulent transactions on her debit card. The total value of the fraudulent transactions between November of 2025 and January 2026 was over $4,000. At present, Defendant is not in custody.
