State Police Investigators out of Lyons received a report on August 24  concerning a Village of Clyde man, laid up due to surgery, who hired a woman to help around his residence.

It was discovered the woman and several co-defendants stole some of the man’s checks, forged and cashed them at area banks.

Trisha L. Clarke, age 48, of  Yautzy Road in Gorham, NY, was arrested on Saturday (11/4) at 8:32 p.m. for Misdemeanor Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fifth Degree and Felony Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree. 

She was also charged in Ontario County for cashing one of the stolen checks at the Reliant Bank in Canandaigua and is wanted on a warrant out of Webster for cashing another check at the Reliant Bank there.

In total, Clarke cashed forged checks for a total of $505.

On Wednesday (11/8) co-defendant David A. Byington, age 55, of the Huntley Road trailer park in the Town of Marion was also charged with Misdemeanor Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fifth Degree and Felony Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree. 

He cashed a total of five of the stolen checks at Reliant locations in Macedon, Newark and Sodus in the amounts of $405, $500, $493, $493 and $800 for a total of $2691.

Byington was taken to the Wayne County Jail and released on appearance tickets for the three separate jurisdictions.

State Police estimate that Clarke,  and Byington, along with two other co-defendants, still to be arrested, stole between $6-$7 thousand dollars from the Clyde man’s checking account.

The Village of Clyde Police Department aided the State Police in the case.