A Washington woman was arrested Tuesday on two felony fraud charges.
The Washington Police Department arrested 43-year-old Chelsea Nichols on a Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals warrant for second-degree fraudulent practice, and unauthorized use of a credit card over $1500, both class D felonies.
According to court records, Nichols allegedly fraudulently used an EBT card that belonged to a deceased individual from December 2024 through October of 2025 in the amount of $2,012.42. She obtained the card from her employer.
Nichols is being held in the Washington County Jail on a $10,000 bond. A trial date has yet to be set. KCII will bring you more information as it becomes official.
Identity theft is the “foundational” fraud upon which many other crimes are built. It involves the unauthorized acquisition and use of a person’s personal identifying information (PII), such as an ID number, Social Security number, or passport details.
- How it works: Fraudsters obtain PII through data breaches, mail theft, or “social engineering” (tricking people into revealing details). Once they have this data, they can open new bank accounts, apply for credit cards or loans, and even receive medical treatment under your name.
- Synthetic Identity Fraud: A sophisticated variation where criminals combine real and fabricated information to create a completely new, “synthetic” person. This is particularly difficult to detect because there is no single victim to report the suspicious activity initially.