Not a Merry Christmas for local couple — credit card and money reported stolen
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On December 12, 2023, a couple walked into the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) to report a break-in and theft at their apartment in Fogagogo, while they were in Apia, Samoa.
A notification to the husband, received in Apia, alerted him of numerous transactions on his wife’s credit card that was in her wallet in their bedroom.
It was later revealed through surveillance video footage that their local Office Manager at Eastern Power Solutions, Lois Skelton, was the alleged individual who had swiped his wife’s credit card to purchase personal items. A bank transfer was also made by Ms Skelton, using Mr Kim’s personal computer, to her account.
Lois Skelton (defendant) is charged with the following:
Count 1, 2, & 3: Felony Stealing — a class C felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to seven (7) years, or a fine of up to $5000, or both a term of imprisonment and fine.
Count 4: Attempted Stealing — a class D felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to five (5) years, or a fine of up to $5,000, or both imprisonment and fine.
Count 5: Burglary in the Second Degree — a class C felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to seven (7) years, or a fine of up to $5000, or both a term of imprisonment and fine.
Count 6: Trespass — a class B misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment of up to six (6) months, a fine of up to $500, or both imprisonment and fine.
Bail is set at $5000.
On December 12, 2023, at about 12:15pm, Mr. Adam Kim and his wife Ashley Chung walked into the TPS and reported a break-in and theft at their apartment in Fogagogo. They explained that they flew to Apia on Dec. 8, 2023 and stayed until Dec. 11, 2023. Mr. Kim assured that their apartment was locked and secured.
According to the affidavit, on the second day of their stay in Apia, Mr. Kim received a notification on his cellphone revealing that a physical transaction was made on his wife’s credit card. Minutes after the notification, he received another notification regarding an additional physical transaction on the same credit card.
It was then that he contacted one of their closest friends in American Samoa and requested that their friend go to their apartment in Fogagogo to check if his wife’s credit card was missing.
Upon arrival at their residence, their friend contacted them via video chat (VC) and was directed towards their bedroom and to a plastic drawer that the wallet was in. It was then that they realized the credit card was missing from inside the wallet and immediately contacted their bank to freeze Mrs. Chung’s credit card. However, while speaking with a bank representative, he continued to receive notifications of physical transactions being made on his wife’s credit card.
When logging into their Chase bank account, the couple discovered numerous transactions on December 9, 2023.
“Two separate transactions were made at Daily Store in Nuuuli, $107.00 and $152.33; a transaction at JLenT’s Store in Nuuuli of $403.00; a transaction was made at Bao Mart and laundromat in Ottoville in the amount of $13.96; a declined transaction of $999.00 was made at Ricky’s Repair Shop in Malaeimi; and two declined transactions of $64.00 were made at the Equator Restaurant in Ottoville.”
On December 12, 2023, Mr. Kim and Mrs. Chung arrived from Samoa and immediately headed to their apartment. Upon arriving at their home, they discovered that the back door of their home was unlocked.
Mrs. Chung rushed to her bedroom and discovered that her credit card was inside her wallet. Mrs. Chung stated, “The same credit card that was used by an unknown person(s) making transactions while they were in Samoa.
“The same credit card that was missing when their friend video chatted them while looking into her wallet.”
In their statement, the couple reported that they visited each of the stores where the transactions were made. Video footage was unobtainable at Daily Store and JLenT’s Store in Nuuuli, however they were able to view video surveillance of December 9, from Ricky’s Repair Shop in Malaeimi. They identified the female individual in the video as their local Office Manager of Eastern Power Solutions, Lois Skelton.
They also received confirmation from the owner who remembered a female that came into the store and wanted to purchase a MacBook at the price of $999.00 with a Chase credit card. He further stated that the transaction was declined. They requested photos of the female individual in the surveillance video and once received, they headed home.
At home, they discovered a transaction on Mr. Kim’s laptop, which brought to light a transfer through Zelle (a money transferring system) from Adam Kim to Lois Skelton in the amount of $1000.
After the report from Kim and Chung was made, police officers followed up with Daily Store and JLenT’s requesting video footage from both stores regarding the issue. Employees from both stores were able to identify a regular customer of theirs who came into the store on December 9, 2023. Cashiers at both stores provided video footage of the same individual that matched the picture and description of the female given by Mr. Kim and Mrs. Chung.
In the footage from both Daily Store and JLenT’s, Ms Skelton was wearing the same clothes (gray polo shirt and dark blue short jeans) as the video and pictures from Ricky’s Repair Shop.
It was then that officers contacted Skelton through a cell phone number provided by Mrs. Kim (victim) and informed her of the allegations. Skelton then stated that she would report to the TPS by 4pm on the same date.
According to the affidavit, on December 12, 2023, at 5:20pm, Skelton arrived and was notified by police officers of the complaint filed by Kim and Chung, and presented her with a picture of a female individual who tried to purchase a MacBook laptop at Ricky’s. They further stated that she was the individual in the picture.
Skelton was Mirandized and provided a verbal and written statement regarding the incident.
Skelton explained that on Saturday, December 9, 2023, she entered Kim and Chung’s house using a spare key that she had received from a maintenance guy back in February 2023.
She was aware of Kim and Chung’s trip to Samoa and used this information to unlawfully enter the apartment through the back door.
Skelton further stated that she walked upstairs to their bedroom, opened Chung’s wallet, and stole Chung’s credit card.
She further said that she went and did her personal shopping at Daily Store and JLenT’s and swiped Chung’s credit card at both stores. She then stopped at Pao Mart and Laundromat and did some grocery shopping in which she also swiped the credit card. It was when she went to Ricky’s Repair Shop when trying to purchase a MacBook laptop that the credit card was declined.
Skelton denied that she transferred any money using Kim’s laptop to her account.
In her statement, she says that later on in the evening of Sunday, December 10, 2023, she went back to Kim and Chung’s apartment. Using the spare key she has, she entered the back door and returned the credit card by placing it in the wallet. When leaving Kim and Chung’s apartment, she left the back door unlocked.
The defendant is identified as a citizen of Samoa.