A man who is believed to be homeless is now in county jail, after investigators levied nearly 70 felony charges in connection with a fraud scheme that targeted victims in Montgomery County and netted more than $31,000 from fraudulent checks.
Harvey Zimmerman, 60, has been charged with 17 counts of forgery, 17 counts of access device fraud, 17 counts of identity theft and 17 counts of theft by deception, in connection with the investigation by the Montgomery Township Police Department.
Investigators allege that Zimmerman concocted a fraud scheme where he would steal the personal information of his victims, then create counterfeit identification cards and passports using his image and the victim’s information. Between Dec. 26, 2020 and May 20, 2021, Zimmerman attempted a total of 17 fraudulent transactions at banks across eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, which led to 16 successful transactions netting a total of $31,429.55 in stolen funds, according to the criminal complaint.
One attempt to cash a fraudulent $2,000 check was declined at a bank, police said.
Police said there are currently seven known victims in connection with their investigation— all from Montgomery County. The victim locations include Towamencin Township, Montgomery Township, Lansdale Borough, North Wales Borough, Lower Salford Township, Whitpain Township and Marlborough Township.
Charges were filed against Zimmerman on May 24, however he was not taken into custody until June 8. Zimmerman was remanded to county jail in lieu of $1,000 bail, which was set by District Judge Andrea Duffy during his preliminary arraignment on June 8.
Zimmerman’s next court appearance is a preliminary hearing in front of Judge Duffy on July 20 at 1:30 p.m.
Prior to his arrest in Montgomery County, Zimmerman was arrested in Bucks County on May 20 on similar felony charges. In that case, Zimmerman was arrested at a bank in Chalfont after trying to pass a fraudulent check, police said. Court records also show recent arrests in Bucks County on similar charges, including charges that were filed in Warrington Township on April 26 and charges that were filed in Plumstead Township on May 3.
After his arrest on May 20 in Bucks County, Zimmerman was remanded to the Bucks County Correctional Facility in lieu of 10% of $75,000 bail. Each court docket shows a different address for Zimmerman, including Bronx, NY, and Manhattan, NY, however he is believed to be locally homeless.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records, the affidavit of probable cause and interviews with police.
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