Police ask possible loan victims to come forward

The Springfield Police Department has issued a public appeal for complaints about possible criminal activity by a Springfield woman.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20150328/NEWS02/703289935

Police ask possible loan victims to come forward By Susan Smallheer Staff Writer | March 28,2015 Email Article Print Article SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Police Department has issued a public appeal for complaints about possible criminal activity by a Springfield woman. The woman, Holly Jagelski Aldrich, 48, has been accused of lying to get money from people and failing to pay it back. She has been charged in connection with similar cases in Chester, said Springfield Police Lt. Mark Fountain. Fountain said Friday the Springfield Police Department, after consulting with the office of Windham County State’s Attorney Michael Kainen, had decided to make the appeal to people in Springfield who have had similar dealings with Aldrich, who also goes by her maiden name, Jagelski. Under the scenario outlined in court affidavits, Aldrich asks people that she knows for a short-term, even one-day, loan of $140, to help her redeem a certificate of deposit worth $10,000. She has told people that her husband has left her and she is destitute. But Fountain said despite Aldrich being arraigned on the Chester charges, and earlier complaints from Springfield residents, police believe the alleged criminal activity is continuing. Aldrich was arraigned last week in White River Junction criminal court on the three misdemeanor Chester charges. She was arraigned last year on two felony charges for allegedly stealing blank checks, forging signatures and trying to cash the checks, which were written out for $100. Fountain said the police department was not involved in “debt collection,” but interested in stopping criminal behavior. In this case, Aldrich’s alleged behavior would be considered “false pretenses.” “It needs to stop,” Fountain said. “This is not your everyday event,” he said, noting the alleged behavior has been going for several months, if not more than a year. Earlier this winter, Springfield Police Chief Douglas Johnston, when asked about complaints about Aldrich, said she was in a rehabilitation program and police were waiting on her to conclude the program. Aldrich had worked at one time as the church secretary for St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Springfield, and many former parishioners have been affected, police have said. Fountain said anyone who has given money to Aldrich in the past, with the understanding that she would return the money but has failed to do, can file a criminal complaint against her with the Springfield Police Department. The transaction must have taken place within the town of Springfield, he said. He said the police department would generate a complaint for each report, and an officer would be assigned to any complaint filed with the police department. People must fill out a sworn written statement, which is available on the department’s Web page or is available in the front lobby of the department, and if possible, provide any substantiating documentation, such as an IOU. People should give their statements to the dispatcher for notarization and to be forwarded to an officer, he said.