Tashanti Laquaealberta West

On August 15, 2025, TASHANTI LAQUAEALBERTA WEST [DOB REDACTED] went to Your Money Exchange Center at [ADDRESS REDACTED] East, St. Paul, Ramsey County. West presented a check purportedly drawn on the account of Pinnacle Insurance and Financial Services in the amount of $16,850.00. A memo on the check indicated West was the claimant for a loss on July 25, 2025. The employee called the insurance company, and a person claiming to be Justin Caufield said the check was good. The employee discovered the check was flagged as fraudulent when they verified the check.

A similar check had been cashed in Brooklyn Park in the amount of $18,783.46, and that check was determined to be fraudulent. An officer arrested West. West was advised of her constitutional rights and agreed to speak to the officer. West claimed she was involved in a motor vehicle accident while driving her step-mother’s 2023 Ford Explorer with a partial license plate of XVY on July 25, 2025. West’s step-mother is Jackee Caraway. West said she had insurance through Pinnacle for about a year through her mother.

West said the insurance company had paid Caraway. Paperwork West had from Pinnacle Insurance and Financial Services documenting a 2023 Ford Explorer contained a vehicle identification number that contained 18 letters and numbers. An investigator called the phone number for the claim department on West’s paperwork. The investigator entered the claim number on West’s paperwork and got a message that the claim did not match any claim in their system. The investigator called the phone number on the front of the check and entered the invoice number on the check.

The investigator called a phone number on the top of the check, and it was answered by a person who identified himself as Joshua and seemed to be driving during the call. The investigator told Joshua they wanted to check the status of her claim, and Joshua asked how the investigator got their number. When told the phone number was on top of the insurance check, Joshua said he was not an insurance company or a claim service. A website for the company contained the same phone numbers and information at the top of the fraudulent check.

An email sent to the company came back undeliverable.