Police: ECU student faked robbery to get money from parents
GREENVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Police in Greenville say an East Carolina University student made up a robbery and filed a false police report.
Matthew Ritch, 20, told police he was in a bank parking lot early Tuesday morning when he was approached by a man with a gun. Ritch stated the suspect got in his car and demanded money, and forced him to withdraw $360 from the ATM.
Greenville police officers quickly noticed discrepancies in Ritch's story.
When they told him Ritch they would be reviewing downtown surveillance cameras and he could be charged if he filed a false report, Ritch confessed that he was not robbed and that his story was fabricated.
Ritch told officers that he was in need of money and hoped his parents would provide him with additional money after they heard he was robbed.
Ritch was taken to the Pitt County Detention Center where he was held on a $500 bond. He is charged with filing a false report.
