Uplands target of bogus check scheme
Aug. 2—Cumberland County sheriff's investigators have been asked to investigate the printing of bogus checks on the check account of a retirement community and then cashing the checks at various locations across the country.
Amount of money obtained from banks in other states was listed as more than $126, 750.
Deputy Sarah Smith met with a representative of Uplands Village who reported that since May 10, 2021, fraudulent checks had surfaced bearing the identification of Uplands on the retirement community's bank account.
The checks should have been noted as suspicious because of various misspellings on the documents including the word bank. However, multiple checks have been cashed throughout the country as part of a scheme.
Checks have been cashed in states from Michigan to Washington, the report states. In one account, Uplands account information was used to make payments on a credit card.
The Uplands representative provided investigators with a folder of information outlining the fraudulent transactions. There is no indication that Uplands is out any money.
Federal help is being sought to assist in the investigation.
Michael Moser may be reached at mmoser@crossville-chronicle.com
