Maryland Man Sentenced to 70 Months for Counterfeit Check Conspiracy

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Michael M. Tinsley, 44, of Ft. Washington, Md., was sentenced today to 70 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for his leadership role in a $200,000 identity theft conspiracy.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema. Tinsley pled guilty on Jan. 19, 2011.

According to court documents, Tinsley participated in a conspiracy to create and cash counterfeit checks from April 2004 to June 2006. He recruited employees at banks and check cashing stores to photocopy checks for a fee, obtained counterfeit checks based on the photocopies, and directed other conspirators to cash the counterfeit checks at local banks. If a casher was successful in cashing a check, he would be paid a percentage and would turn the remaining proceeds over to Tinsley and other co-conspirators. The total fraud loss in the case was more than $200,000.

This case was investigated by FBI’s Washington Field Office. Assistant United States Attorney Kosta S. Stojilkovic prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.