2 men jailed, accused of attempting to use fake IDs to steal from banks State College area
Two men were arrested Tuesday on felony charges that accused them of attempting to use fake IDs to steal upward of $10,000 at two banks in the State College area.
Arthur W. Smith, 63, of New Jersey, and Jason Arzu, 24, of New York City, were accused of attempting to carry out the thefts Tuesday at the First National Bank in downtown State College and 1811 S. Atherton St.
Smith asked for previous bank statements, but was stopped by a bank teller who recognized him as someone who attempted fraudulent transactions earlier in the day at another First National Bank in central Pennsylvania, borough police wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
Once stopped by officers at the South Atherton branch, Smith was found with a forged driver’s license and credit card of a Pennsylvania resident, a detective wrote.
Smith, police wrote, told investigators he was doing “illegal stuff” in State College because he is “broke and has medical issues.” Smith said he was instructed to withdraw $5,000 if there were sufficient funds in an account, but all three attempts were unsuccessful.
Smith obtained the phony IDs from Arzu, who said he acquired them on the dark web. Arzu also told investigators he drove Smith to all three bank locations, police wrote.
No defense lawyer was listed for either man.
Each were charged with a dozen felonies, including forgery, identity theft and access device fraud. Each were arraigned Wednesday by District Judge Don Hahn, who set bail for each man at 10% of $220,000.
Neither posted bail and each are incarcerated at the Centre County Correctional Facility. Each has a preliminary hearing scheduled for April 17.
This story was originally published April 10, 2024 at 3:15 PM.