TACOMA, Wash.—Police have indicted 10 people here in connection with an alleged stolen check ring that led to losses of nearly $1 million for financial institutions, including a number of credit unions.
Eight of those people have been arrested and are in custody; two people are still being sought. Authorities said the ring stole the checks, often by breaking into vehicles, and then deposited them in 219 different bank accounts over the past four years. Among the credit unions allegedly victimized are BECU, TwinStar and Sound Credit Union. According to police the criminals used debit cards to withdraw funds before the institutions learned the checks were bogus.