A 27-year-old Brooklyn, NY man waived his right to a preliminary hearing Tuesday at Morrisville District Court accused of trying to cash a fraudulent check at Citizens Bank inside the Giant Food Store on West Trenton Avenue.
Lamont Paulin through his attorney from the Bucks County Public Defender’s Office waived the hearing. He will be formally arraigned at the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas next month in Doylestown.
Paulin was arrested on felony counts of forgery and receiving stolen property along with a related offense last month.
The investigation was launched when police in Morrisville Borough responded to Citizens Bank at 4:25 p.m. on April 16, 2025 for an attempted check fraud incident, police said.
When police arrived, a bank teller said a black male wearing camouflage pants. a multi-colored coat and a black head cover tried to cash a Citizens Bank check for $6,431. He was later identified as Lamont Paulin. On the reverse side of the Citizens Bank check, Paulin’s signature matched the signature on his New York State identification card, according to the probable cause.
The check belonged to a Huntingdon Valley joint account owned by unidentified victims. After the attempt, the bank closed the account and notified the victims. According to the victims, the check was never issued or authorized by Citizens Bank, police said in the affidavit of probable cause.
Police reviewed video footage showing a male presenting an alleged fraudulent check. Paulin allegedly presented a Citizens Bank debit card linked to the one he opened. Both the signature on the New York ID card and the signature on the check matched, police said. According to video and photo stills taken at the bank counter, the photo on the state-issued ID card matches the same person, authorities said.
An employee of the bank called police and waited as Paulin fled on foot out of the store and through the parking lot. During surveillance video, Paulin was seen chasing and getting into a gray Mercedes Benz 320 registered in New Jersey, said police.
Paulin was arrested on April 30 after a warrant was issued on April 21 for his arrest.
