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SALT LAKE CITY -- The so-called "Hipster Grifter" is facing more charges.
Salt Lake County prosecutors filed charges late Thursday against Kari Michelle Ferrell, 22. She is now charged with one count of identity fraud and issuing a bad check, both third-degree felonies. She was also charged with two misdemeanor counts of issuing a bad check.
The charges came after Salt Lake City police extradited Ferrell back to Utah to face theft and forgery charges.
She skipped out on court dates, racking up $60,000 in warrants for her arrest in Taylorsville, Salt Lake City and Layton. She was placed on the Salt Lake City Police Department's Most Wanted list.
Ferrell wound up in New York City, where she fell into Brooklyn's hipster scene. The New York Observer newspaper first published a story of Ferrell's alleged cons, including faked pregnancies, cancer and music promoter jobs while scamming people out of money.
Her status as a fugitive in Salt Lake City made her an Internet celebrity in New York, with a Facebook fan site and websites posting tales of people who claimed to have been scammed by her.
Dubbed the "Hipster Grifter," Ferrell posted a video confessional online before ultimately surrendering in Philadelphia. She was eventually extradited back to Utah.
The latest charges came after detectives had a chance to question Ferrell, police said in an affidavit.
Ferrell said she opened a cable account with one victim's name and Social Security number without permission.
"The defendant admitted that she made no attempt to pay the debt," Salt Lake City Police detective Matt Evans wrote.
Most of the bad check charges accuse Ferrell of bilking people out of a few hundred dollars. In one instance, she wrote a $1,600 bad check, charging documents allege.
On Thursday, Ferrell appeared in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court. Court records show she had hired her own attorney and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 28, where a judge will decide if there is enough evidence to make her stand trial.
Ferrell remains in the Salt Lake County Jail, booking records said.
E-mail: bwinslow@ksl.com
