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A Severn woman was in “shock” after reading in OrilliaMatters she had been arrested earlier this month.
She had fallen victim to identity fraud.
On Sept. 22 at 7:30 a.m., South Simcoe police arrested two people in a stolen vehicle in Innisfil. Cassandra Katona-Baird, 33, of Severn, was thought to have been one of them.
“Somebody had gotten arrested using my ID,” Katona-Baird told OrilliaMatters. “I think it’s somebody who obviously knew me.”
She believes the person responsible was a high school friend who knew her date of birth, her family, and her job as a registered nurse at Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital.
“Somebody that works in the hospital brought it to my manager’s attention,” Katona-Baird said. “Then they sent it to me and asked, ‘Is this you?’”
When Katona-Baird called the police, she said they didn’t believe her.
“They said if I’m making this accusation and it’s not true, (I) can be charged with public mischief,” she said. “They made it like I needed somebody to watch my kids while I went down there just in case.”
On Saturday, she met with the arresting officer.
“As soon as he saw me, he knew I wasn’t the one he arrested,” she said. “He said it’s all dropped and it’s not in my name anymore.”
She feared the incident would affect her career.
“This would be a big thing if I had a charge,” she said. “I would lose my job.”
Katona-Baird has been “incredibly stressed out” by the situation.
“It’s hard when you know something like this could significantly impact your career,” she said. “I know it’s being looked at by people because it’s in the news.”
As far as she knows, the suspect is still in possession of her expired ID.
“She could get arrested tomorrow and use it again,” she said. “This is pretty crazy and something you don’t hear about often.”
On Saturday afternoon, the South Simcoe Police Service announced it was looking for Jacqueline Adams, 34, of no fixed address. She faces charges of possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, possession of an identity document, possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000, identity fraud, and obstructing a peace officer.
Anyone with information about Adams’s whereabouts is asked to call South Simcoe police at 705-436-2141 or 905-775-3311, or contact Crime Stoppers.
Katona-Baird is relieved police have identified the woman they believe stole her ID.
“I feel good that this has been corrected publicly and I can show people that it was not me,” she said. “The bottom line is that it sucks that this happened.”
