WILLIAMSPORT, Pa.—A Detroit man who scammed banks and credit unions in northern Pennsylvania out of more than $200,000 by using counterfeit checks has been sentenced to 4.5 years in prison, PennLive reported.
As CUToday.info previously reported, James Harris-Bey, 54, admitted in 2022 in U.S. Middle District Court he scammed seven banks and credit unions in northern Pennsylvania. Terms of the plea agreement required him to pay restitution totaling $218,182.
Harris-Bey is one of three people indicted in a scheme in which accounts at banks and credit unions were opened using counterfeit lease agreements, payroll checks and earning statements.
U.S. Attorney Alisan V. Martin in outlining the government’s evidence said Harris-Bey and co-conspirators made deposits using counterfeit checks he created that contained the names of fictitious businesses. Withdrawals then were made at various branches the same day before the financial institutions could reconcile the accounts, PennLive.com previously reported.
The criminal activity with which Harris-Bey was charged began less than three months after completion of an 80-month federal sentence in Ohio in a similar check cashing scheme in which he was required to make restitution of $765,112.
“With some reluctance, Judge Matthew W. Brann released Harris-Bey on personal recognizance into the custody of his sister in Detroit with the warning if he took one step out of line he would be back in jail,” according to the report.