Former PA talker indicted in forged check scheme

Bruce Bond, a former afternoon drive talker for WNNK-AM Harrisburg, PA has been indicted on charges of using stolen bank account information from the FCC, Bard College and others in a $4.3 million forged check scheme. The indictment charges Bond with forgery, attempted grand larceny, identity theft and other charges that allege he worked the scheme for over a year with accomplices in Nigeria and Europe.

UPS had contacted authorities when it learned that Bond was using a shipping account that had been opened with a stolen credit card, prosecutors said. Bond was arrested at his apartment in NYC on 5/20.

Bond pleaded not guilty on Friday in Manhattan's state Supreme Court and was held in $250,000 bond and told to return to court 7/23. Bond's lawyer, Patrick Megaro, said his client "is absolutely not the ring leader. He is merely a cog in the wheel," according to The AP.

The scheme involved Bond sending bogus checks drawn on various corporate accounts to work-at-home job seekers, some of whom had responded to "job opportunities" ads on Craigslist, the story said.

Bond created the fraudulent checks, using the names of various companies and their bank account numbers, and sent them to the names and addresses provided by the overseas accomplices. The payees would cash the checks, keep 10% and send the rest to Bond's overseas accomplices, prosecutors said. The overseas accomplices allegedly got their money before the check casher was notified by his bank that he had cashed a phony check.

The overseas accomplices sent Bond weekly payments that totaled about $1,500. The total amount of the checks recovered was $4,289,594.77. The amounts ranged from $1,500 to $47,000, according to the case.
 

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