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Police Nab 'Sweet Tooth Bandit' After Tracking Candy Purchases

Cumberland County deputies have arrested a woman who they say stole people's identities and used their bank accounts to buy fancy candy over the Internet.

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Teresa Canady
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — A woman who police say stole people's identities and used their bank accounts to buy fancy candy over the Internet has been caught, the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office says.
Deputies called Teresa Marie Canady of Hope Mills the "Sweet Tooth Bandit." She was among nine people arrested on outstanding warrants during an enforcement effort that the department dubbed "Operation Grinch."

Canady was charged with obtaining property under false pretenses and stealing one person's identity. Investigators think , however, that she used at least six people's identities to buy candy, said Debbie Tanna, a sheriff's office spokeswoman.

Detectives had tracked her online purchases, including a recent one in which Canady spent more than $680 at the Swiss Colony Inc., an upscale food store based in Madison, Wis., according to court documents.

Canady goes by at least four other names, Tanna said. In court papers, investigators say they believe she committed similar crimes in Virginia.

Canady was taken to the Cumberland County jail and released after posting $2,000 bail.

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