Police: Man hacks Hanford account to pay utility bills

A man who mysteriously obtained a city of Hanford bank account number and used it to pay cable TV, utility and credit card bills is behind bars, police said Monday.

Kevin Salmon, 25, of Bakersfield, was arrested on suspicion of grand theft and other charges alleging he stole about $8,000, police said.

The alleged fraud happened between Oct. 1 and Dec. 20, 2015.

Four homes or people benefited from electronic payments of about $2,300 that were made to personal accounts from the city’s account, police said.

Using search warrants, police checked credit card and utility company records and figured out that Salmon was using a computer and a phone to make the fraudulent payments, apparently in exchange for rent and debts owed to people he stayed with, police said.

Police went to Bakersfield and unexpectedly spotted Salmon leaving a home and took him into custody without incident.

This story was originally published January 25, 2016 at 6:46 PM with the headline "Police: Man hacks Hanford account to pay utility bills."