Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced Oct. 6 that a statewide grand jury indicted two people for an alleged bank fraud scheme involving home equity lines of credit. The defendants are Stephanie Laugier, 27, and Thierno Barry, 29. An indictment is a formal accusation, and both are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
According to the indictment, Laugier traveled to banks and credit unions in summer 2025 and used a fake state ID to pose as the real holder of a home equity line. She is accused of withdrawing thousands of dollars in cash or having the bank issue a check to a person in another state or, in one case, to a fraudulent business. Those checks were overnighted out of state. The targeted banks were in Arvada, Denver, Dillon, Littleton, Lone Tree, Longmont and Parker.
The attorney general's office says aggregate losses in Colorado exceeded $800,000, with attempted losses above $300,000. It also says victims' personal information was used to file fraudulent business records with the Colorado Secretary of State without their consent. The charges include racketeering, theft, identity theft, forgery of a government document and money laundering. Laugier is in custody in Louisiana, and Barry is still at large.
The case began when a Coloradan reported fraudulent activity. Homeowners with a home equity line can check their statements often and ask their lender what identity checks it requires for in-branch withdrawals. The release does not give advice for consumers, so those are general steps, not part of the announcement.