VENTURA : Police Identify 20 in Check Fraud Scam

Ventura police have identified 20 people, including teen-agers, in a check fraud scam in which about $40,000 was stolen from local banks, authorities said Thursday.

The investigation began early this year when detectives were contacted by an unnamed bank. Two detectives have been assigned full time to the case and the list of suspects has grown, Sgt. Gary McCaskill said.

No arrests have been made, but investigators hope to take their case to the district attorney’s office in several weeks, McCaskill said.

“We’ve talked to almost all of the lower players, but as you go up the ladder, there are other more important players. And we haven’t gotten to the top of our little ladder yet,” he said.

Detectives said the scam was not particularly sophisticated, but attracted a number of young people willing to let stolen checks be laundered through their bank accounts. Those individuals were paid to withdraw money deposited in their accounts with forged checks.

The forged checks were stolen in car and residential burglaries in Ventura, police said.

McCaskill said investigators have so far identified more than a dozen instances of money being laundered through bank accounts. Many people whose accounts were used do not have prior criminal records, he said.

All of the suspects are facing arrest on a range of charges including forgery, grand theft and burglary.