Burnsville Woman Charged with Identity Theft, Going on Midnight Velvet Shopping Spree

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A Burnsville woman has been charged with three felonies after police used a battering ram to break into her house, where they say they found drugs, stolen property and the financial and personal information of at least 30 different people.

Emily Jane Schlichter, 30, is charged with identity theft, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine, and fifth-degree drug possession and receiving stolen property, each of which has a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, the identity theft victim contacted police on June 18 and reported that he had been receiving numerous credit card bills and credit cards for accounts that he hadn’t opened.

The victim said the bills and cards began arriving at his home early in June. He said he received bills from companies including Montgomery Ward, Midnight Velvet and Bargain Outlet, and that Amazon Visa and West Elm credit cards had been opened in his name.

The West Elm credit card had $550 worth of charges, and the Montgomery Ward bill showed that $464 worth of items had been purchased and shipped to a home in the 600 block of Burnsville Parkway. A bill from Midnight Velvet showed that $459 worth of items had been charged and shipped to the Burnsville address.

The items purchased from Montgomery Ward and Midnight Velvet included a conservatory bench, a slow cooker, a mirrored black table, a three-piece planter set, a wing chair and a pale gold-colored wig, according to the complaint.

Police contacted Bargain Outlet and learned that two charges were made June 7 on a credit card account opened in the victim’s name. One charge was for $155 worth of women’s fragrances; the other was for $309 for a bench, a comforter and a cordless vacuum cleaner.

Police executed a search warrant at Schlichter’s home on July 25, knocking on the door and announcing themselves repeatedly for several minutes. When there was no answer, officers rammed the door open and found Schlichter inside.

One of the bedrooms in the home was locked, and Schlichter told police that the key was inside her purse. An officer dumped the purse on a bed, and a small bag of marijuana – later found to be 2.94 grams – fell out, the complaint says.

When police were unable to locate a key to the bedroom, they kicked in the door. Among the items seized in the raid were the bedding, the slow cooker, the wing chair and the cordless vacuum purchased using the unauthorized credit cards; tablets of Ritalin and Xanax and items commonly used to smoke methamphetamine; and office cases containing the names, addresses, financial information, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, employer information, vehicle titles, pay stubs, credit card statements and checkbooks belonging to dozens of other potential identity theft victims, according to the complaint.

Schlichter is free on bond. An omnibus hearing in her case is scheduled Nov. 5 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.