Blair, or others, would obtain checks from local banks belonging to accounts that had been closed or contained no funds.June 9, 2009 SUFFOLK VA NEWS -- Mary Ann Blair, 36, of Waynesboro, Virginia, pled guilty in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Charlottesville to charges related to bank fraud on June 8, 2009. U.S. Attorney Julia C. Dudley announced that Blair, while in District Court, waived her right to indictment and instead pled guilty to a one-count information charging her with bank fraud. The defendant admitted that beginning in September 2007 and continuing through at least July 2008, she, and others not identified in the document, devised a scheme to commit bank fraud. United States Attorney Julia C. Dudley said: "Ensuring the integrity of our banking system is one of the most important duties our office performs. In order to maintain the public's confidence in our banks, individuals who defraud these institutions must be brought to justice" To perpetrate the scheme, Blair, or others, would obtain checks from local banks belonging to accounts that had been closed or contained no funds. They would then open a new account at the bank and deposit one of the worthless checks. Immediately thereafter they would travel to a different branch location of the same bank and deposit additional worthless checks. Once several checks were deposited, they would travel to a branch location not previously visited and withdraw the money. Due to the timing of the deposits and withdraws, the banks were unaware that the deposited checks were worthless. In all, the fraud scheme resulted in loses of more than $55,000 to several local banks. The investigation of the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of investigation and the City of Waynesboro Police Department, City of Harrisonburg Police Department, and the Commonwealth Attorney's Office for the city of Waynesboro. Assistant United States Attorney Ronald Huber is prosecuting the case for the United States. If convicted on all counts, the maximum penalty faced by Mary Ann Blair is 30 years imprisonment and/or a fine of $1 million. Blair will be sentenced at a hearing in Charlottesville, Virginia, federal court that is scheduled for August 31, 2009. # # # |
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