KDSN RADIO News
Iowa part of massive national check fraud scheme
A federal grand jury has approved charges against 18 people in a massive nationwide scheme involving stolen checks.
The charges involved using the stolen checks received from co-conspirators that haven’t been charged. They would create sham entities and then open accounts at banks and credit unions in Iowa and other states under the names of those entities to deposit the stolen checks.
The leaders of the scheme worked in Arizona and also included people from Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana. The court information says the co-conspirators attempted to deposit at least ten million dollars worth of stolen checks into fraudulent accounts and were able to obtain at least two-point-one million dollars. They face charges of bank fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering.
Eight Iowa banks or credit unions were victims of the scam.
Here is the indictment in the case: Check fraud indictment PDF