Abby Lion’s Club victim of suspected fraud scheme
Colby-Abby police are looking into a suspected fraud case that victimized the Abbotsford Lion’s Club in October.
According to a report filed by the CAPD, the Lion’s Club had a raffle in which an Abbotsford man won a prize and was given a $30 check on Oct. 3.
The check was processed on Oct. 4. Then, on Oct. 20, Karen LaPine, treasurer of the Abbotsford Lion’s Club, was called by another member of the club who works at Royal Credit Union. The RCU employee said while at work, she observed a check in the amount of $960.85.
The employee called LaPine to verify the authenticity of the check and LaPine said she had not issued a check for that amount.
LaPine then called Forward Bank, the club’s bank, to notify them of the fraudulent check. A photocopy of the check was provided to LaPine and the check noticed that both her and another member’s signature was photocopied and printed on the check.
All of the information on the fraudulent check was typed except for the check issuer. LaPine told police the Lion’s Club checks that are issued are always handwritten.
On the reverse side of the check, the person had a name typed with the words “For Mobile Deposit Only” on it. Forward Bank said they would be working with RCU to recover the money from that check.
After searching through the club’s checking account, a Forward Bank employee noticed another check that seemed abnormal in the amount of $3,200. The check was made out to a different person than the first check. LaPine knew she had not issued a check for $3,200.
That check was also typed and was issued to a person that LaPine had never heard of before. The date the check was written showed Oct. 13. The check was endorsed with a bank routing number under the signature and was processed through Forward Bank on Oct. 17 via mobile deposit, the officer said in his report.
The Forward Bank employee said the bank’s accounting department was investigating the check issued for $3,200 and said it may take a couple of days to figure out where the check issued to the second man was cashed. The employee said she would contact the department when she received the information.
Police chief Jason Bauer said the Abbotsford man had been in contact with someone online who asked him to send the check information. Bauer said the person has not yet been identified but said they had been using aliases to cash multiple checks.
Bauer said he did not suspect the Abbotsford man was a part of the scheme and said he just fell victim to a promise from someone online.
The matter is still under investigation but insurance is expected to cover the cost of the missing money.
