‘Friend’ Charged With Fraud, Theft

The Cwirko brothers thought they had found a fun-loving friend when they met a 25-year-old who loved to go to the movies, ice cream parlors and casinos.

Instead, the three met a thief willing to defraud three vulnerable men in their 60s and 70s, police said.

Ronald D. Baldwin was charged June 10 with four counts of theft by deception and two counts of defrauding a vulnerable adult. He was held on $100,000 bail.

Baldwin befriended the three brothers, moved in with them and took over their finances, police said. Tens of thousands of dollars belonging to the Cwirkos ended up in casinos in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Las Vegas, according to their court-appointed conservator.

Police also allege Baldwin used the brothers in a check-kiting scheme. The brothers opened four bank accounts in a month at Baldwin’s request, Officer Rhonda Gustafson said.

A small amount of cash was put into each account, she said. The brothers would write checks for large sums on some accounts for deposit in other accounts. In such a scheme, checks then are normally written on the illegally bolstered accounts.

The brothers were not accused of wrongdoing. The loss to the banks and to the Cwirkos was estimated at $75,000 to $100,000. The investigation began after the banks complained to the police.