CT Man Steals Checks to Defraud Banks
A Connecticut man pleaded guilty on Nov. 2 in Connecticut's U.S. District Court to four counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.According to court records, Justin Edwards, 27, of Coventry, CT, and a co-defendant stole balance transfer checks, also called "convenience checks," from residents' mailboxes between July 2007 and March 2008.
Edwards and the co-defendant then opened several bank accounts at different Connecticut financial institutions, forged the stolen checks, making them payable to the defendant, deposited them in the accounts and then withdrew the cash before the victim financial institutions discovered the original deposits were fraudulent.
Edwards and the other defendant deposited about $188,454 in the fraudulent checks and successfully defrauded the banks of about $89,700.
Edwards will be sentenced on January 21, 2010 and faces a maximum term of 125 years and a fine up to $4.25 million. The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the United States Secret Service.