An alleged fraud ring registered companies with the names of payees on stolen checks worth tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars in what analysts described to ACAMS moneylaundering.com as a sophisticated, though not entirely successful, strategy. A 20-page indictment unsealed by federal prosecutors in Des Moines, Iowa, this month charges Thaddeus "Big Grind" Lee and 17 of his suspected associates with bank fraud and money laundering after they allegedly attempted to use the sham companies they created to cash $10 million worth of stolen checks, which they allegedly acquired from unindicted co-conspirators. Organized mail-theft rings frequently cash...
A federal grand jury in Iowa returned an indictment that charges 18 individuals for their roles in a nationwide bank fraud and money laundering conspiracy.
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