Suspect Charged In $45K Fraud Incident Involving Floridian Museum

A Palm Beach County fraud case has drawn an unexpected art-world connection: prosecutors are reviewing allegations that a Boca Raton woman deposited a counterfeit check linked to the Flagler Museum into her personal bank account. Alexandra C. Kaiser, 31, was arrested on April 14 and charged with grand theft, uttering a forged check, and criminal use of personal identification information.

According to an affidavit of probable cause from the Palm Beach Police Department, Kaiser allegedly deposited a fake check drawn on the museum's Northern Trust account into her JPMorgan Chase account earlier this year. Museum officials later told police the check had never been authorized. They also said the legitimate check with the same number remained in the museum's possession and had been issued to someone else.

Bank records obtained by CBS 12 through a subpoena reportedly show Kaiser on surveillance video at a JPMorgan Chase branch handing the check to a teller and completing the transaction with her debit card. The funds were credited to the account and later withdrawn before the bank reversed the transaction after determining the check was fraudulent and reclaiming the museum's money.

In a recorded phone interview with detectives on April 9, Kaiser allegedly admitted she knew the check was counterfeit. Police say she told investigators she was acting for an acquaintance who arranged the scheme and promised her roughly half the proceeds if the check cleared, with the rest going to another party.

Under Florida law, the alleged conduct meets the threshold for grand theft because it involved more than $750, along with the use of a counterfeit financial instrument. The case is now under review by the Florida State Attorney's Office.

The Flagler Museum, housed in Whitehall, Henry Flagler's 75-room Gilded Age palace in Palm Beach, is one of South Florida's most prominent historic sites. Its name carries the weight of the region's late-19th-century boom years, which makes the alleged misuse of its banking information all the more striking.

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