Iranian Charged In International CU, Bank<@SM>Fraud

- JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (01/25/02) - An IranianĚmigrĚ pleaded innocent Wednesday to charges hehelped engineer an international money laundering scheme thatbilked credit unions and banks out of as much as $1.2 million.Kourosh Ziaee, 44, who was arrested in Nevada last month, wasordered held without bail by the U.S. Magistrate. Ziaee was chargedwith a scheme to forge and cash Canadian checks at severalinstitutions, including Educational Community CU here, First UnionBank, and Bank of America. Authorities said the organizers of thescheme used middlemen to recruit people to open accounts at thedifferent institutions and deposit the checks. The funds were thenwithdrawn before the institutions learned they were stolen. Some ofthe cash was delivered to the ringleaders in mailed magazines,which had portions cut out to hide the cash, authorities said. Thescheme was made easier because U.S. institutions do not place holdson international checks drawn on Canadian banks, as they do fromother countries.