Other LanguagesAn Olympia, Wash., woman was sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison for her role in an counterfeit check scam. Edna Fiedler pleaded guilty in March to attempting to defraud U.S. residents. According to news reports, she helped accomplices in Nigeria send fake checks to people who had agreed to cash them, keep some of the proceeds and send the rest back. The Nigerians contacted potential victims by e-mail. The recipients most likely thought they were helping out someone who needed a person in the U.S. to cash a check for them, officials said.
Fiedler mailed $609,000 worth of phony checks and money orders. When U.S. Secret Service agents searched her house, they found additional fake checks worth more than $1.1 million.
We repeatedly hear from victims of counterfeit check scams. A victim cashes the check then sends money by Western Union or Moneygram. The check later bounces. At the risk of sounding like a broken record: never wire money to a stranger. Learn how to recognize these schemes at www.fakechecks.org.