A Coventry woman and her daughter have been charged in an alleged scheme linked to Nigerian Internet contacts, in which authorities say the mother has sent more than $1 million worth of counterfeit cashier’s checks over the past four weeks.
State police said yesterday that Nancy Alexander, 66, of 2404 Victory Highway, met two people over the Internet and they conspired to defraud people by making counterfeit bank checks and money orders. Alexander was given names and addresses, and amounts she was to make the checks payable for, the police said.
According to authorities, Alexander was promised $600 a month to act as the scheme’s middleman by putting checks or money orders in envelopes, attaching mailing labels provided to her, and mailing them.
Alexander has been charged with counterfeiting, conspiracy to commit the act of counterfeiting and possession of a counterfeiting device or implement.
Debra Mahoney, 44, her daughter, has been charged with counterfeiting and conspiracy to commit the act of counterfeiting. The state police did not provide details of the allegations against Mahoney.
During the week of March 30, members of the state police intelligence unit got information from the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Providence office that a package containing more than $170,000 of counterfeit cashier’s checks and money orders had been shipped from Nigeria to 2404 Victory Highway in Coventry.
Once the package was delivered, Detective William Accardi got a search warrant for the residence. On April 4, state and Coventry police and ICE officials seized the package and more than $100,000 of counterfeit bank checks that were being made on a home computer, the police said.
Detectives also seized receipts of delivered packages originating from Africa, materials and instruments used to make counterfeit cashier’s checks, and a mailing labels list with people’s names from throughout the United States and abroad who were intended to receive the counterfeit checks.
Detectives also seized a computer, which was apparently used to communicate with people believed to be in Nigeria, who were directing and profiting from the operation.
Counterfeit fraud schemes with Nigerian ties have become more prevalent because of the ease of contacting large numbers of victims via the Internet, the police said, as well as increase in items for sale on such sites as eBay.
In the latter case, sellers might receive a counterfeit cashier’s check or money order in payment. Individuals might also be contacted by e-mail with a sympathy story and be asked to help by sending a cashier’s check. State police cautioned that to avoid falling victim to such scams, never cash a check for someone you don’t know personally, especially if solicited online.
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