Coventry woman arrested in counterfeiting case
2:07 PM Tue, Jul 22, 2008 | Permalink
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Projo 7 to 7 News BlogTaking the news pulse of Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts, by Providence Journal and projo.com staff, from 7 to 7, every business day |
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Get the 7 to 7 on your mobile at www.projo.com. Twitter: projo | RSS | Email alerts Federal agents arrested a Coventry woman today on a complaint alleging that she made and forwarded counterfeit checks worth about $1.7 million on behalf of accomplices in another country. Nancy Alexander, 66, of Hornbeam Road, was initially arrested in April by state authorities after federal customs agents seized a package from Nigeria, addressed to her, containing 119 counterfeit checks and money orders worth $175,280, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Providence. Rhode Island State Police and federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement then searched Alexander's home, where they say they found checks totaling $168,000. Authorities also took Alexander's computer, blank checks, and preprinted shipping labels addressed to people across the country. Today's arrest and complaint was announced jointly today by U.S. Attorney Robert Corrente, the Providence office of the Secret Service, ICE, and the state police. Alexander was involved in an "overpayment scheme," according to officials. A statement released by the U.S. Attorney's office says victims and intended victims say they were found in different ways. Several were looking for jobs or services online. Victims said they were sent checks and asked to cash them, keep some of the money and wire the balance back to the sender. According to the complaint, the checks were all counterfeit and victims lost the money that they had wired to the sender, between $2,000 and $5,000 dollars. The victims' information was allegedly sent to Alexander by someone she corresponded with online who went by the names David Smith and Alan Gates. Some of the checks sent to victims appeared to be from a Bank of America account in Lebanon, Ohio. According to the account holder, her account number was slightly different from the one on the checks allegedly sent by Alexander. The account holder said she did not know any of the parties involved. Alexander faces one count of mail fraud and one of aggravated identity theft -- felonies that carry a maximum 22-year prison sentence and fines totalling $500,000. She is being arraigned today in U.S. District Court. Nigerian letter fraud, or "419" fraud, is one of the common kinds of internet fraud. Learn how to spot these scams, and others on the FBI's internet fraud Web site. 
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Hey - it's about TIME that one of these scam artists was caught!!! Bravo!!!
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