Maryland Woman Indicted For Passing Fraudulent Checks

HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Lucy Annette Alexander, age 35, of Maryland and Washington, DC, was indicted on December 1, 2021, by a federal grand jury on seven counts of bank fraud for using checks in a fraudulent manner at stores located in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, the indictment alleges that between August 2019 and June 2021, Alexander wrote numerous checks at retail store locations, including PetSmart, Sears, Dollar Tree, Weis Markets (or Weis Pharmacy), Food Lion, MOM’s Organic Market, Giant Food, Harris Teeter, The Home Depot, Sally Beauty, Advance Auto Parts, Costco, Barnes & Noble, Hobby Lobby, BJ’s Wholesale Club, CVS Pharmacy, Party City, SHOE SHOW, Bed Bath & Beyond, Roses Discount Store, and others. It is also alleged that the JPMorgan Chase bank accounts from which Alexander wrote these checks were already closed and therefore did not have adequate funds to cover purchases at the above retail stores.  Alexander wrote over 200 checks from just one account after it was already closed.  The total amount of fraudulent checks written was over $200,000.

It’s also alleged that in May 2020, Alexander wrote and used seven checks from a Chase Bank account for a total of over $17,000, knowing that her account had insufficient funds to cover these checks. These checks were used to purchase goods at Weis Markets, Giant Food, and Roses Discount Store locations in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ravi Romel Sharma is prosecuting the case.

Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

The maximum penalty under federal law for bank fraud is 30 years’ imprisonment. This charge may also carry a fine of up to $1,000,000 and a term of supervised release following imprisonment. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.

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