Crime & Safety

Fairfield Deli Owner, from Trumbull, Charged with Embezzling $218K

She allegedly pilfered the money from three elderly Fairfield residents.

[Editor's Note: Arrest information is supplied by the . It does not indicate convictions.]

A three-year investigation conducted by the members of the Fairfield Police Department and several other agencies lead to the arrest of a Fairfield business owner for allegedly embezzling money from a trio of elderly residents under the guise of friendship.

Carmella Jamshidian, 54, of Madison Avenue in Trumbull, was charged with first-degree larceny by scheme after she allegedly pilfered $218,408 in a single year from three elderly siblings who live in Fairfield, Detective Jason Takacs said.

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The alleged victims -- a brother and his two sisters, all in their 60s -- inherited a large sum of money from a wealthy relative in 2007, Takacs said. 

Jamshidian, who owns on Kings Highway Cutoff, befriended the siblings shortly after. The victims were regular patrons of the deli, which was within walking distance from their home, according to the report. The three reportedly had used the deli’s phone to make calls to their attorney regarding their inheritance and police believe Jamishidian had overheard some of these calls.

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She offered to help the three open a bank account at for the inheritance, driving them to and from the bank and offering to house the checks as they came in inside a safe at the deli, police said. She also reportedly offered them a line of credit for buying food from the deli.

According to the report, Jamshidian eventually told the siblings that she no longer needed them to sign the checks to deposit them and that she could take care of their bill payments.

Police believe she took this opportunity to funnel the $218,408 into her own bank accounts. Investigators found that 373 checks were drawn from the account in a single year; 356 of those checks were made out to Jamshidian, the deli, or to cash, Takacs said. The ones made to cash were reportedly endorsed by Jamshidian.

Fraud investigators at People’s Bank noticed money disappearing from the account and contacted the Fairfield Probate Court in 2009. Judge Daniel Caruso froze the assets then to preserve what was left of the balance, Takacs said.  

Fairfield police and Vic Sharma, an account investigator at the Chief States’ Attorney’s office, took over the case after the probate court alerted them in 2009. The department filed for an arrest warrant this week and Jamshidian was charged on Thursday.

Attorneys assigned by the probate court are pursuing litigation to recoup the monetary loss to the siblings, Takacs said. The siblings have since been provided aid and direction from the town of Fairfield’s Social Services Department.

Takacs added that case isn’t entirely closed and he believes there are more victims out there. He encouraged anyone who have been the victim of fraud or knows any related information to call the department at 203-254-4840.


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