A Florida woman, Renee M. Thompson, 53, of North Lauderdale, pleaded guilty in Rochester, N.Y., to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and agreed to pay $28,500 in restitution.
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced that Thompson admitted to conspiring with others to commit bank fraud starting in April 2023. This involved stealing and altering a $12,914.11 check mailed from the Western District of New York, making it payable to her.
Thompson deposited this altered check into a TD Bank account in July 2023. Subsequently, she and her co-conspirators used the victim company's banking details to create 16 additional fraudulent checks, successfully obtaining $205,780.52 from the company's C&N Bank account between July 24 and August 15, 2023. She also deposited two counterfeit checks totaling $7,098 into a Truist Bank account in June 2023.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division. Thompson faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, with sentencing scheduled for September 9, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr.