DES MOINES, Iowa — A grand jury has indicted 18 suspects related to "a nationwide scheme to defraud ... and draw funds from stolen business checks," federal prosecutors said Monday.
The indictment alleges the defendants — who lived in Arizona, Iowa and Illinois — stole business checks from legitimate businesses and created "sham entities" with similar names in order to cash the checks.
"If the deposit was successful, Defendants withdrew large amounts of cash from the accounts and/or obtained cashier’s or official checks from the accounts. Defendants distributed the proceeds among their co-conspirators," the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa said in a release. "Oftentimes, Defendants obtained cashier’s or official checks written to sham entities that were created for the purpose of laundering stolen check proceeds. Defendants used the money obtained from the stolen business checks for their personal benefit and purposes."
Defendants attempted to cash more than $10 million in stolen checks and actually received more than $2 million. Many of the checks totaled more than $50,000 or $100,000 each, the indictment adds.
The defendants are charged with 50 total counts in federal court, including:
- Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud
- Bank Fraud
- Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering
- Money Laundering Over $10,000
If convicted, they would face a maximum 30 years in prison on bank fraud and conspiracy, with another 10 years on money laundering charges.