Allegheny County Police detectives accused a man of using his former Fawn neighbor’s banking information to open a dozen credit cards and steal nearly $26,000 after she cosigned a car loan in 2018 so he could drive to work.

Jonathon Theron Sam Fry, 42, of the 3800 block of Riverview Street in Lower Burrell was charged with 18 felony counts. They include nine counts of access device fraud; three each of theft and receiving stolen property; and one count each of identity theft, criminal use of a communications facility, and financial exploitation of an older or care-dependent person.

Fry was arrested June 5 and released on a nonmonetary bond, according to court records. He faces a preliminary hearing before District Judge Carolyn Bengel on June 21.

A woman who has power of attorney for Fry’s former neighbor in the 300 block of Metz Road reported the thefts to Fawn police in January 2020 after learning about the suspicious credit card accounts and charges, according to a criminal complaint.

Investigators accused Fry of using his former neighbor’s personal information to open three Discover Card accounts, three accounts with Community Bank and credit cards from Monterey Financial, Credova Financing, Chase, American Eagle, Explore Credit, Sheetz and Credit One, the complaint said.

He also is accused of using the woman’s bank information to pay the insurance for the car she helped him buy, along with a renters insurance policy.

The total of the credit card and insurance bill charges is a little more than $25,800.

Investigators said they were able to trace the email addresses and telephone numbers that were provided to open the accounts back to Fry.

The woman told police the last communication she had with Fry was on Christmas Day 2019 when she received a text message from him, according to the complaint.

The number used to send the text was the same number used to apply for the credit cards, the complaint said.

Police said Fry’s former neighbor told them the woman was “trying to help” when she cosigned for the vehicle loan for him because he had three children with different women and was working two jobs.

She told police she felt bad for him because he was having car troubles. So she helped him buy a new Mitsubishi Outlander from a Monroeville dealership in May 2018. The woman told investigators that “it was not a good decision,” the complaint said.

The woman told police she also tried to help Fry by allowing him to use her Wi-Fi-connected computer and her washing machine. Fry’s children also were allowed to access the Wi-Fi in the woman’s apartment, the complaint said.

The woman reported to police that Fry told her he needed credit cards, but she responded that he was “on his own.”

Investigators also questioned a woman who told them she was living with Fry from December 2018 to December 2019. She told police that Fry spent a lot of time at his neighbor’s apartment “even when she wasn’t home,” the complaint said.

The woman told police she thought it was “odd” that Fry was able to buy items such as an Xbox, a crossbow, firearms and an in-house gym but was having trouble paying the gas bill, according to the complaint.

Fry also is awaiting a preliminary hearing before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec on charges of simple assault and harassment filed Jan. 31 by Lower Burrell police in connection with an alleged incident Nov. 27, according to court records.

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