Maryland women Cinita Pedone, Dawnetta Underwood accused of scamming Atlanta police

Two women from Maryland are accused of scamming Atlanta officers into offering up personal information.

”Anybody can be fooled, and this is a good example. If they can get us, they can get anybody, Atlanta police Sgt. Paul Cooper said.

Cinita Pedone and Dawnetta Underwood are now facing several counts of identity theft.
Investigators said they told officers they wanted to offer them enhanced insurance coverage, and to do that they needed sensitive information such as Social Security numbers and birth dates.

”They walked in and said they were from Employee Benefits, and they were there to talk about enhanced benefit packages and supplemental insurances, Cooper said.

Cooper said Employee Benefits is a real company but has no ties to AFLAC, the insurance company the city of Atlanta uses. He said the women's scheme involved having one of their supervisors call ahead and get a watch commander to allow them to address the officers during roll call.

”Obviously it’s pretty bold to go into a police precinct and target police officers for this, Cooper told Channel 2’s Erica Byfield.

But he said their scheme fell apart when a lieutenant pressured them for more information late last week. Police Lt. Gary Harper, who works the night shift at a northwest Atlanta precinct, said a red flag went off when the women came in so late.

”It was a strange time for them to be there, Harper said.

Police also said the women wore club attire and didn’t have any paperwork from AFLAC.

”Even the applications themselves, if you looked at it, they were copies, and they weren't straight on the paper, Harper said.

Police said the women targeted all six Atlanta police precincts, racking up at least 39 victims. Atlanta police are also looking into whether city firefighters and MARTA officers were targeted. Officers are advised to check their credit.