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It’s a scheme that’s been around almost as long as check transactions. There’s nothing new about it and people still get away with it every day. Enforcement becomes more difficult as the kiting ring expands, but all kites eventually come crashing to the ground.
Authorities in Arlington, Texas, recently put a halt to two rings that took an estimated $2 million from area banks in the past year. In one case police say 271 Tarant County people took $1.7 million from a variety of Metroplex banks. Between 20 and 30 questionable transactions were recorded on each of the more than 200 accounts. Participants often used ATMs to figure out exactly when a deposit was recorded. As soon as the money was posted to the account, the individual would quickly travel to as many as 30 drive-through windows and withdraw cash. One branch alone lost $250,000 in the scam. Prosecutors plan to charge each suspect under organized-crime statutes. If authorities are successful, ring members could be facing 20-year prison sentences and fines of up to $10,000 each.
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