Man Convicted in Fraudulent Check Scheme

BOSTON, MA—A Massachusetts man was found guilty late yesterday in federal court with engaging in a fraudulent check scheme in which he and another Massachusetts man deposited forged, counterfeit and altered checks into accounts at various local banks and wired the proceeds overseas.

United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan; Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Joann Zuniga, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Division, announced today that LENARD G. CHRISTI, age 68, of Massachusetts, was convicted of conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud, and engaging in monetary transactions in proceeds of specified unlawful activities.

The Superseding Indictment alleged that from at least October 2000 through at least April 2003, CHRISTI, and a co-defendant ROBERT FELLEMAN, engaged in a scheme to defraud various local banks, including Fleet Bank, now Bank of America, Citizens Bank, and Eagle Bank. The Superseding Indictment alleged that in October 2000, CHRISTI and FELLEMAN attempted to negotiate through a Fleet account controlled by FELLEMAN two counterfeit checks, one for approximately $78,000 purportedly from SallieMae and one for $15 million purportedly from the Central Bank of Nigeria. Although Fleet suffered no loss from these two incidents, CHRISTI and FELLEMAN did succeed in defrauding Fleet Bank of approximately $300,000 in July 2001. At that time, the Indictment alleged, CHRISTI and FELLEMAN caused an altered check for approximately $320,000 to be deposited into the Fleet account FELLEMAN controlled, and then dissipated most of the proceeds before Fleet was notified that the check was altered. The Superseding Indictment also alleged that, shortly after the check was deposited, CHRISTI and FELLEMAN wired approximately $220,000 to Taiwan and then made a series of cash withdrawals totaling in excess of $80,000. In addition, around the same time frame in which they were making the cash withdrawals, CHRISTI and FELLEMAN made a series of Western Union wire transfers (totaling approximately $80,000) to Nigeria.

The Superseding Indictment also alleged that about three months after the Fleet Bank incident, CHRISTI and FELLEMAN deposited a forged check for $350,000 into a Citizens Bank account controlled by FELLEMAN. It further alleged that in April 2003, CHRISTI deposited an altered check for $78,100 (Canadian) into an account at Eagle Bank that FELLEMAN and he controlled. CHRISTI wired most of the funds to an account at a bank in London, United Kingdom, but Eagle Bank discovered that the check was fraudulent in time to retrieve the wire from London.

In 2007, CHRISTI’s co-defendant, FELLEMAN, pled guilty to conspiracy, wire fraud and bank fraud. He is currently serving a 30 month sentence. Sentencing for CHRISTI has been scheduled for May 12, 2009 before the Honorable Douglas P. Woodlock.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack W. Pirozzolo of Sullivan’s Economic Crimes Unit.