WESTMINSTER, Colo.–A man has been convicted of writing more than $10 million in fraudulent checks here in a scheme that involved several credit unions.
Herman Hinojosa, 73, the owner of a kitchen contracting business, was found guilty by a jury in connection with a $5-million check deposited in a local bank, and also subsequently pleaded guilty in connection with a deposit of another fraudulent check for the same amount, according to the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
In all, Hinojosa was convicted on eight charges of theft, forgery and check fraud. According to the Attorney’s Office, the conviction stemmed from a deposit Dec. 9, 2016, into a newly opened account at Alpine Bank in Rifle, Colo., that was drawn on his overdrawn Premier Members Credit Union account.
Authorities said Hinojosa also wrote a $38,500 bad check for earnest money and attempted to wire an $860,000 payment from the Alpine Bank account for a warehouse he was trying to buy in Rifle.
Following the conviction, Hinojosa pleaded guilty in connection with the deposit of a $5-million check Dec. 21 at Western Rockies FCU, according to the court. That check also was drawn on the overdrawn Premier Members account. “An affidavit by a 17th DA investigator says Premier Members rejected the check, which was written to a company associated with Hinojosa and deposited in an account he had opened at Western Rockies Federal Credit Union,” the District Attorney’s office said.
Hinojosa still faces a trial on Oct. 11 on charges in connection with his business, Kitchens 4 Less. He and his wife, Susan, were charged in 2014 with 30 counts of theft and check fraud for allegedly stealing money intended for kitchen remodeling projects they didn’t complete, according to prosecutors, who allege that the defendants targeted elderly customers and victimized 27 people who lost more than $140,000.
Susan Hinojosa was convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison and was ordered to pay nearly $101,000 in restitution in that case, according to the DA.