News Release
U.S. Department of Justice
United States Attorney
District of Rhode Island
April 23, 2009
Coventry woman is sentenced for her role in an international
“wire-back” counterfeit check scheme
A federal judge today sentenced Nancy Alexander, 67, of Coventry, to a year in prison for a fraud involving about $1.7 million in counterfeit checks and money orders. Alexander produced fraudulent checks on her computer and forwarded other checks that had been shipped to her from Nigeria. The objective of the scheme was to have recipients of the counterfeit checks wire money to the perpetrators of the scam.
United States Attorney Robert Clark Corrente announced the sentence, which Chief U.S. District Court Judge Mary M. Lisi imposed in U.S. District Court, Providence.
“This is what’s known as a ‘wire-back’ scheme,” U.S. Attorney Corrente said. “And, although the roots of the scheme may be foreign, this case tells us that international scam artists often need some local help to advance their schemes.”
Colonel Brendan P. Doherty, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police said, "Financially motivated crimes have continued to increase in the past few years and this case demonstrates the level of criminal ingenuity we face while combating this activity. However, we continue to be vigilant in our pursuit of these types of violations".
At a hearing in November at which Alexander pleaded guilty, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee H. Vilker said the government could prove that perpetrators of the scheme provided Alexander with information necessary to create and mail counterfeit checks to targets of the scam. Alexander created on her home computer about 291 counterfeit checks, totaling $1.6 million in purported value, and shipped the counterfeit checks to intended victims throughout the United States. Unknown individuals then tried to persuade the targets to deposit the counterfeit checks and wire some of the purported value to another account.
In April 2008, Customs agents intercepted a parcel addressed to Alexander that contained 119 counterfeit checks and money orders. It had originated in Nigeria and had been shipped through France.
U.S. Secret Service agents interviewed victims and intended victims who had been sent the counterfeit checks and determined that they had been approached in several ways: one after she had posted a resume online, another who had advertised a pool heater for sale in a local newspaper, and another who had been seeking a work-from-home job. All were asked to cash checks of various amounts, keep some of the money, and wire the balance to other accounts. All the checks were later determined to be counterfeit, and victims lost money that they had wired back – in amounts ranging from $2,000 to $5,000. Other targets were more cautious, and either waited for the checks to clear – which they did not – or did not respond at all.
Alexander, of Victory Highway, pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud. She must report to prison on May 14.
The Secret Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Rhode Island State Police investigated the case, with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.