International Check Scheme

The Associated Press is reporting today that individuals operating out of Turkey and possibly Latvia are running an international check scam.^[1] Job hunters who had posted their resumes on the internet were contacted and “hired” by a company calling itself “Void Computers, Inc.”^[2]

An applicant would then be asked to help the company cash “warrants”^[3] from the State of Arkansas, and if the applicant accepted the offer, he was sent warrants in his name with instructions to cash them and wire the money to a bank in Latvia, minus a ten percent fee that the consumer may keep.^[4] The applicant is also encouraged to avoid banks, and use check cashers, liquor stores or similar businesses instead.^[5] About ten days later, the consumer would receive two counterfeit checks mailed from Turkey, with the consumer’s own name and address printed on them.^[6] To date, eight checks have been cashed, totaling about $21,000.^[7]

Arkansas’s Attorney General, in addition to conducting an investigation himself, has consulted with the U.S. Postal Inspectors Office and the FBI.^[8]

The behavior described in this story is both a federal crime and a transnational crime. It could be wire fraud, mail fraud and counterfeiting of State securities. Wire fraud is a crime under 18 U.S.C. § 1343, mail fraud is a crime under 18 U.S.C. § 1341, and counterfeiting of State securities is a crime under 18 U.S.C. § 513.

Wire Fraud
We have previously addressed wire fraud in conjunction with Alexander Yakovlev, here.

Mail Fraud
Under section 1341, it is a crime for a person who has devised a scheme to defraud or to obtain money by false pretenses to procure for unlawful use any counterfeit coin, obligation, or security by the use of the United States mails. It is also mail fraud for a person to use the United States mails to further a fraudulent scheme.

The punishment for mail fraud is a fine of up to $1,000,000, imprisonment for up to 30 years, or both.

Counterfeit State Securities
Section 513(a) makes it a crime for a person to make, “utter,”^[9] or possess a counterfeited or forged security of a state.

The punishment for violating section 513(a) is a fine, imprisonment for up to ten years, or both.

A “security,” as used in this section can mean a check^[10] or a warrant.^[11] Furthermore, the distinction between “counterfeited” and “forged” is: a counterfeited document purports to be real but is not, because it has been falsely made or manufactured in its entirety;^[12] a forged document purports to be real but is not because it has been falsely altered, completed, signed, or endorsed, or it contains false additions or insertions, or it is a combination of parts of two or more genuine documents.^[13]

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[1] James Jefferson, Forged State Checks Object of International Scam, Associated Press, Aug. 15, 2005, available here (free subscription may be required).
[2] Id.
[3] As used in this context, “warrant” means “[a] document conferring authority, esp. to pay or receive money.” Black’s Law Dictionary 1617 (8th ed. 2005).
[4] Jefferson, supra note 1.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.
[9] In this context, “utter” means “[t]o put or send (a document) into circulation; esp., to circulate (a forged note) as if genuine.” Blacks Law Dictionary 1582 (8th ed. 2005).
[10] 18 U.S.C. § 513(c)(3)(A).
[11] Id. § 513(c)(3)(D).
[12] Id. § 513(c)(1).
[13] Id. § 513(c)(2).