Two Kent residents were among 10 people indicted this week as part of large bank fraud ring allegedly responsible for nearly a million dollars in fraud.
Clayton L. Bias Jr., 25, and Shawn A. Turner, 24, were among the defendants indicted in U.S. District Court in Seattle, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office media release. They are accused of using stolen checks to inflate bank account balances and withdraw cash.
The indictment alleges that between November 2010 and the present, the co-schemers used 219 different bank accounts to steal more than $987,000 from the banks.
Eight of the defendants are in custody. Seven made their initial appearances in U.S. District Court on Thursday. Two defendants are still being sought, and one defendant is in state custody and will make his appearance next week.
According to the indictment, the defendants allegedly used stolen checks to make fraudulent deposits into various bank accounts. Using debit cards, the co-schemers would withdraw large amounts of cash before the bank determined the check used to inflate the balance was no good. Some of the people whose bank accounts were inflated were complicit in the fraud, allowing the co-schemers to use their debit cards.
Many of the checks were stolen in car prowls and then used for the fraud, according to law enforcement records.
The victim banks include: Bank of America, Boeing Employees Credit Union (BECU), TwinStar Credit Union, Wells Fargo Bank, Sound Credit Union, Key Bank, and Banner Bank. All are federally insured financial institutions.
The 60-count indictment charges the defendants with bank fraud and aggravated identity theft for the fraudulent use of the debit cards.
The defendants named in the indictment are:
Clayton L. Bias Jr., 25, Kent
Arthur N. Wilcher, 29, Tacoma
Calvin D. Davis, 26, Federal Way
Okila A. Malayka Ulmber, 31, Renton
Amanda R Riffle, 28, Tacoma
Relonna D. Ward, 34, Tacoma
Avery E. Lee, 32, Milton
Johnathan M. Turner, 22, Federal Way
Shawn A. Turner, 24, Kent
Sephora Q. Watkins, 27, Tacoma
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