Cops: SJ woman faked robbery report because she was late on rent

Police say a South Jersey woman pretended to be a victim of an armed robbery because she was late paying rent.

Gloucester Township police said 44-year-old Tonya Brown of Blackwood is charged with filing a false police report.

Brown called authorities on Wednesday morning to report that she had been robbed on the 400 block of Black Horse Pike by two men, one of whom was armed with a handgun, police said.

She allegedly told officers that the assailants were driving a maroon vehicle and asked her for directions, then demanded her wallet, police said. She reported that the wallet contained $700.

Investigators searched the area but couldn't locate the suspects or a vehicle that matched that description.

In a later interview with police, Brown recanted the robbery report, officials said. Police said she fabricated the story because she was late on her rent.