Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On April 12, 2025, a business owner walked into the Tafuna Police Station to report one of his employees who allegedly stole a large amount of money from his business by forging checks.

According to the court affidavit, on April 12th, the owner of a local business (the victim) walked into the TPS to report an alleged theft. He reported that an employee of his (later identified as the suspect) was suspected of stealing business funds by forging business checks from his business.

Authorities conducted an investigation where it was later referred to the Criminal Investigation Division (CID).

The victim agreed to be interviewed at the TPS as part of the preliminary investigation where he stated that he is the owner of the Milovale’s, a restaurant establishment in Nuuuli. He alleged that Talitiga Crawley (suspect) was an employee of his and had worked for him for about a year and a half.

The victim explained that the suspect’s duties included running errands and doing most of the shopping for the restaurant, under the supervision of the store/ restaurant manager.

The victim further stated that he does not have access to the business’s checkbook, only the store manager has access to it. He explained that any shopping that the restaurant may require was handled by the store manager who first contacts the necessary stores and then hands the suspect a check to pay for the shopping at each store. The suspect was tasked with going to the store, paying for the items, picking them up and then delivering the items back to the restaurant.

Moreover, the victim stated that it was a usual practice to leave the value of the payment blank, to be filled out later by the various store/ vendors' cashiers.

On April 5, 2025, while he (victim) was conducting a routine review of the business’s checkbook records from statements provided by the Territorial Bank of American Samoa (TBAS), he discovered that on certain of the respective statements, there were checks which listed the suspect’s name as the payee instead of the store from which the goods were purchased.

The victim provided records for 43 checks issued from Milovale's business account that were cashed from the span of January 2025 to April 2025 showing the suspect as the payee. The victim stated that he was concerned because none of the account’s money should have gone to the suspect because the business uses a separate account to handle payroll obligations.

It was also noted that the 43 checks were cashed on 39 different dates. On four of those dates, the suspect cashed two checks and then cashed one check every other day.

The suspect was subsequently contacted via telephone to inquire as to her availability and willingness for an interview. She agreed and walked in the DPS CID office in Fagatogo, on April 24, 2025.

Prior to the interview, the suspect was informed that she was not in custody, and that she was not obligated to answer any question from the authorities if she did not wish to do so. She was further informed that she was free to leave whenever she wished and she could stop the interview at any time. The suspect stated she understood and was willing to answer questions and to make a statement.

The suspect first apologized for her actions which the victim alleged.

She claimed that the work at Milovale is hard and the pay is not enough. She explained that one of the reasons for her actions was because her home in Samoa burned down. She stated that she had sent most of the money to her family in Samoa.

The suspect said that she started cashing checks in her name from January 2025 through April 2025. She informed the officers that the checks were cashed at the Holiday Mart store in Nuuuli.

The suspect was also questioned if anyone else was involved and she stated that she acted alone.

She provided a written statement and authorities noted that the signature she provided on her written statement matched the signature on the checks.

Two cashiers from the Holiday Mart were also interviewed separately regarding the said matter. Both cashiers’ statements were more or less identical, stating that Crawley was known to them as “Tali”. They both stated that she always cashed checks at their store.

The cashiers were asked about how many times the suspect had come to Holiday Mart and they said “many times”.

The defendant, identified as a 33-year-old citizen of Samoa, was later charged with over 100 charges as follow:

Count 1, 4, 8, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34, 37, 40, 43, 46, 49, 52, 55, 58, 61, 64, 67, 70, 73, 76, 79, 82, 85, 88, 91, 94, 97, 100, 1-3, 106, 109, 112, 115, 118, 121, and 124 for Forgery, a class C felony punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed seven years, a fine not more than $5,000, or both imprisonment and fine;

Count 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29, 32, 35, 38, 41, 44, 47, 50, 53, 56, 59, 62, 65, 68, 71, 74, 77, 80, 83, 86, 89, 92, 95, 98, 101, 104, 107, 110, 113, 116, 119, 122, 125, and 128 for Stealing, a class C felony punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed seven years, a fine not more than $5,000, or both; and,

Count 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36, 39, 42, 45, 48, 51, 54, 57, 60, 63, 66, 69, 72, 75, 78, 81, 84, 87, 90, 93, 96, 99, 102, 105, 108, 111, 114, 117, 120, 123, 126, and 129 for Embezzlement: a class C felony punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed seven years, a fine not more than $5,000, or both.

The defendant’s bail was set at $30,000.