JACKSON TWP — A cleaning woman already accused of altering several checks to give herself an instant pay hike was arrested this week for stealing thousands of dollars in jewelry from the same client.

Tracy L. Charlier, 45, of Jackson Township on Tuesday was arraigned on felony charges of theft and receiving stolen property. She was later released on her own recognizance.

A week earlier, Jackson Township police in a separate felony case arrested Charlier on charges she forged four personal checks of her employer, a 52-year-old woman who lives in the township’s affluent Briar Hill plan.

The defendant was the alleged victim’s longtime cleaning woman last fall when she manipulated the first check written by her client for $80.

“She drew the number 1 in front of the 80, making it $180,” said Jackson Township Police chief Terry Seilhamer.

Charlier cashed the check that the victim had written on Nov. 6. She repeated the same scheme on checks written Nov. 20, Dec. 8 and Jan. 7, police said.

Police on Feb. 12 charged her with four counts each of forgery, access device fraud and theft by deception.

While police were investigating that case, the same victim discovered she was missing three gold and diamond tennis bracelets, worth a combined $4,600. She did not know how long they had been missing.

Understandably, Charlier became the No. 1 suspect.

On Tuesday, she confessed to taking the jewelry sometime before Christmas 2013, Seilhamer said, and provided the motive.

“She said she was running out of money and needed money for Christmas,” Seilhamer said.

Preliminary hearings in both cases are set for March 3 at the office of District Judge Wayne Seibel in Evans City.

Seilhamer, meanwhile, noted that his officers were familiar with the defendant even before filing their cases, citing her criminal record that includes 13 convictions for bad checks and one for identity theft.