DALLAS — Five individuals, including a former manager at Southwest Corporate FCU, were charged yesterday with operating a counterfeit check scam that siphoned as much as $100,000 from 62 members at credit unions across Texas.
Fort Bend County sheriff's deputies said Leeandre Brewer, 24, the ring leader, made fake checks using credit union account and personal identifying information obtained from Jessie Lamon Rose, 30, who was a manager at Southwest Corporate, which provides check clearing and processing services for its credit union members.
Rose provided the other suspects with checks, account numbers and other highly sensitive customer information, according to the charges. The suspects in turn used the information to write fraudulent checks to purchase expensive electronics and clothing.
Brewer and three other men would travel out of state to purchase high-dollar merchandise, including clothing and electronics, with the forged checks, according to the charges. They would ship the merchandise back to Houston and later return the items for cash refunds.
