A federal grand jury in Bridgeport has indicted Madisyn Pettaway, 30, of Newark, New Jersey, on charges related to the attempted deposit of a stolen U.S. Treasury check at a Connecticut credit union. The announcement was made by David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut; Michael Carpenter, Special Agent in Charge of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Northeast Field Division; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division.
According to court documents, Pettaway allegedly used a stolen identity and a fraudulent New Jersey driver’s license to open an account at Charter Oak Federal Credit Union on August 27, 2024. On September 13, 2024, she attempted to deposit a U.S. Treasury check worth $410,085.48 into that account. The credit union did not accept the deposit.
It is also alleged that Pettaway opened another account at Charter Oak FCU in June 2025 using another fraudulent identity. She was arrested by East Lyme Police on July 28, 2025 and charged with state offenses. At the time of her arrest, police say she had a fake New York driver’s license and three debit cards under the false identity. Pettaway was later arrested on a federal criminal complaint on August 20, 2025.
The indictment returned on September 3 charges Pettaway with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud—each carrying up to 30 years in prison—as well as theft of government property (up to ten years) and aggravated identity theft (a mandatory consecutive two-year sentence).
Pettaway appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria E. Garcia in New Haven and was released on $100,000 bond.
“An indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,” said U.S. Attorney Sullivan.
The investigation involves the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, East Lyme Police Department, and Montville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Chang is prosecuting the case.
