Bank Fraud

Police try to identify users of stolen card (03/15/12)
The public is being asked to help identify two women accused of using a stolen credit card at three Shelbyville businesses Sunday. "The victim left the card in a tube at Walgreens," Detective Sgt. Brian Crews of the Shelbyville Police Department said. "Then she got information the card was being used."...

Police seek ID of credit card suspect (01/26/12)
Shelbyville police are seeking the public's help in identifying a woman accused of using a stolen credit card. A photo of the alleged suspect, as store personnel said she was leaving Shelbyville's Walmart, has been released by police. The victim said she thought she lost her credit card at a Shelbyville restaurant on Jan. 17, Detective Sgt. Brian Crews said. Her bank statement showed five transactions made after the card was stolen, including one at Walmart on Jan. 18...

Check scam suspects strike across state (01/13/12)
A man and woman accused of attempting to cash fake payroll checks at grocery stores in Shelbyville and other cities are subjects of a statewide search. The couple has obtained multiple Tennessee-issued IDs across the state using falsified documents and stolen identities, which they use to cash fake payroll checks, according to a press release and photos sent by the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department to law enforcement agencies statewide...

Lott's appeal denied by court (01/12/12)
A woman serving an 18-year sentence for theft and credit card fraud has lost her appeal. Sheila Marie Lott had claimed she had received ineffective assistance of counsel and that her plea was not voluntarily made when she made an open plea in 2008 to a variety of charges...

Five names, 1 man, multiple fraud tries (01/03/12)
Investigators are searching for a man who allegedly cashed payroll checks under various names at grocery stores in Shelbyville, Tullahoma and Chattanooga. The man cashed a Goodwill payroll check and presented a state identification card bearing the name "Henry Bell" at a Shelbyville grocery store on Friday, according to a police report filed by officer Gregg Loyd...

McLean fraud victims due almost $1M (12/13/11)
Nearly $1 million in payments are due creditors who were victims of a Ponzi scheme by the late Murfreesboro financier Robert McLean. McLean died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound the day before a bankruptcy hearing in 2007. The financier swindled $67 million from investors and creditors while making donations to friends, MTSU and the Country Music Hall of Fame. A Ponzi scheme is where early investors are paid off with money put up by later ones...

IRS officials warn public of ongoing e-mail scam (02/18/11)
If you got an e-mail recently from the Internal Revenue Service about your taxes -- you didn't. "The IRS will never e-mail you about your taxes -- not ever," said Dan Boone, who handles IRS media relations for Tennessee and Alabama. "If you get an e-mail that looks like comes from the IRS and it looks like it has something to do with your personal taxes or business taxes, it's a scam."...

'Spoofing' misused in scam (02/03/11)
Shelbyville police are warning the public about a new round of phone scams targeting local residents. Detectives Brian Crews and Charles Merlo told the T-G that an older man received a call on his cell phone late last week from a man who said there was a problem with his bank account, and that he needed to supply his Social Security number and date of birth...

Shoplifter steals camera, bottles of lice shampoo (02/02/11)
A man attempted to falsely claim he was returning a Vivitar underwater digital camera to Walmart on Monday afternoon, Shelbyville police said. The suspect carried the camera from the electronics department to the service desk and claimed it was a gift from his grandmother, police were told...

Convicted caregiver's appeal denied (12/14/10)
A woman who pleaded guilty to defrauding an Alzheimer's patient of some $40,000 while serving as his caregiver has lost her appeal, which claimed she was given an excessive sentence. The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the sentence given to Veronica Lynn Floyd for three counts of theft of property over $10,000 and one count of theft of property over $1,000...

Appeal denied in fraud decision (12/09/10)
A woman convicted of prescription fraud and other charges has lost her appeal and will have to complete her 10-year sentence in prison. Mary Cathleena Blindt had been indicted by the county's grand jury in April 2009 for three counts of prescription fraud, and then was later indicted in August of the same year for one count of theft over $500, two counts of forgery, one count of introduction of contraband into a penal facility, and one count of failure to appear...

Elderly targeted in scams (11/25/10)
Shelbyville investigators have arrested another man accused of promising home repair work to the elderly, and then taking money in advance and not doing the job. Meanwhile, a city detective is advising residents to be wary of those soliciting repair services that you haven't asked for...

Scam suspect surrenders after chase (11/23/10)
A man suspected by police of scamming thousands of dollars from elderly Middle Tennessee residents was taken into custody after a high-speed chase Friday. Allen Ray Harris, 33, walked out of woods near Chapel Hill to a waiting bail bondsman following a three-hour search by officers, Detective Sgt. Brian Crews of the Shelbyville Police Department said...

Lewisburg bank struck by robber (11/21/10)
First Farmers Bank in Lewisburg was robbed of an undetermined amount of money at about noon on Friday, city police said. A white man in his mid-to-late 20s wearing a ball cap, no mask and a camouflage jacket "implied" that he had a weapon, but did not show it if he had one, Police Chief Chuck Forbis said...

Trail of damage: ATM thefts attempted (10/13/10)
Two men in a stolen truck took an automatic teller machine and attempted to steal another from convenience stores along U.S. 231 North early Tuesday. But the men's cowardice -- or consciences -- got the best of them as they dumped the ATM almost in sight of the store and took off immediately when an alarm sounded at the other store, the Bedford County Sheriff's Department said...

Farris honored by state (10/12/10)
A sheriff's department investigator has been honored with a Tennessee House of Representatives proclamation for his work in uncovering a $40 million mortgage fraud scheme. Detective Brian Farris was honored Monday with the proclamation signed by State Rep. Pat Marsh and Speaker of the House Kent Williams...

Major bank remodeling receives approval (09/24/10)
Shelbyville's planning commission approved a plan for extensive renovations to First Community Bank of Bedford County that will include five drive-through teller lanes. Only 372 square feet of space is to be added to the existing facility -- an outbuilding for drive-through tellers -- but the rest of the work will involve landscaping, a change in parking and an inside renovation...

Grand jury indicts TennCare fraud suspect (09/22/10)
A Bedford County woman was indicted by direct presentment by the county's grand jury on Monday for TennCare fraud. Lazandra Delene Teal, 29, Old Pencil Mill Road, was taken into custody and brought before Circuit Court Judge Robert Crigler. The warrants said that Teal had been defrauding TennCare from Dec. 1, 2007, until June 3, 2010...

Local woman accused of TennCare fraud (06/15/10)
A Bedford County woman was charged with TennCare fraud and related counts after a direct presentment to the Bedford County grand jury on Monday. Sonya Marie Leverette, 25, of Shelbyville has been charged with two counts of TennCare fraud and two counts of using TennCare to try to acquire possession of a controlled substance....

Judge denies Ritch request for delayed start to term (03/25/10)
Roger Ritch was ordered to turn himself in to federal marshals Wednesday after a judge denied his second request for a delay in reporting to prison. Ritch was sentenced to 39 months in federal prison last month for his involvement in a mortgage fraud scheme which resulted in 61 Shelbyville families losing their homes through foreclosure and lenders suffering significant losses...

Investigator: Sentences too short in fraud case (02/12/10)
"It's a slap to the people of Bedford County." After a three year investigation into a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme, Detective Sgt. Brian Farris of the Bedford County Sheriff's Department is finally speaking his mind about the sentences handed down by a federal judge in the case...

Ritch sentenced to 39 months (02/09/10)
CHATTANOOGA -- Saying he would spend the rest of his life paying back those he harmed, home developer Roger Ritch was sentenced to 39 months in federal prison on Monday. U.S. District Judge Harry S. Mattice Jr. sentenced a tearful Ritch to the three-year, three-month term for his involvement in a scheme which resulted in 61 Shelbyville families losing their homes through foreclosure and lenders suffering significant losses...

Prosecutors seek harsh sentence for Ritch (02/03/10)
Federal prosecutors have blasted a recent defense motion on behalf of Roger Ritch, asking for a harsh sentence for the home builder and calling Ritch's stated motives for his involvement in the multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme "ludicrous" and "laughable."...

Bell receives probation in loan case (02/02/10)
CHATTANOOGA -- Ronald Bell, a former Shelbyville bank branch manager, was sentenced to three years probation by a federal judge on Monday. Bell pleaded guilty last October to charges of making a false entry in bank records while he was employed at Regions Bank in Shelbyville, waiving indictment and arraignment...

Lawyer: $1M too much blamed on Ritch (01/19/10)
The attorney for a home builder who has pleaded guilty to participating in a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme claims that losses attributed to his client have been miscalculated by over a million dollars. Roger Ritch is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 8 at 1 p.m. in Chattanooga before U.S. District Judge Harry S. Mattice Jr. for his involvement in a scheme which resulted in 61 Shelbyville residents losing their homes through foreclosure and lenders suffering significant losses...

Bell sentencing reset for February (01/06/10)
Sentencing in federal court for a local bank branch manager has been reset for the first of next month. An order signed on Tuesday by United States District Judge Harry S. Mattice moved the sentencing hearing for Ronald Frank Bell of Shelbyville to Monday, Feb. 1 at 2 p.m...

Sentencing for Ritch continued (01/05/10)
Sentencing for Shelbyville home builder Roger Ritch, who has pled guilty for his participation in a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme, has been delayed until next month. Ritch was scheduled to be sentenced Monday. However, an order signed by U.S. District Judge Harry S. Mattice Jr. on Monday has continued the sentencing hearing until Feb. 8 at 1 p.m....

Henderson to serve 20 months in fraud case (12/24/09)
Another defendant in a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme centered in Bedford County has received a 20-month federal prison sentence. Jonathan Henderson of Murfreesboro was given a sentence below the federal guideline range and was also sentenced to three years probation by U.S. District Judge Harry S. Mattice Jr. on Monday...

Former banker's plea deal delayed until sentencing day (12/08/09)
A local bank branch manager has had his federal plea deal deferred until the day he will be sentenced, according to federal documents. A report and recommendation filed last week by Magistrate Judge Susan K. Lee in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee in Chattanooga suggested that a decision on whether to accept the plea agreement of Ronald Frank Bell of Shelbyville "be deferred until sentencing."...

Snow to serve 2 years in prison (12/08/09)
Carrie Snow was sentenced to over two years in federal prison Monday for her role in a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme in Bedford County. Snow will serve a total of 27 months, followed by three years of supervised probation, according to notes from the proceedings held before District Judge Harry S. Mattice Jr. in Chattanooga...

Mortgage fraud scam victims asked to report on impact (12/04/09)
Victims of a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme are being urged to let federal prosecutors and a judge know how they have been impacted by the scam. Last week, the ringleader of the crime, William T. McMahan, was sentenced to six and a half years in prison and was ordered to pay over $2.4 million in restitution...

Robber strikes Shelbyville bank (12/01/09)
The Madison Street branch of First Community Bank was robbed shortly before noon Monday by a man who demanded money but didn't display a weapon, police said. "A male entered, he didn't make any reference to or brandish a weapon," Detective Charles Merlo of the Shelbyville Police Department said...

Chili brings out a hungry crowd (11/05/09)
The side streets around Peoples Bank of Bedford County were lined with parked cars Wednesday between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., and nobody seemed to mind at all. People were walking down the road, calling out greetings to those sitting on the porches, and they were all lining up for lunch. There were lawyers and farmers, mechanics and doctors, politicians and grandmothers of all colors and backgrounds...

Bank manager pleads guilty in fraud case (10/29/09)
The branch manager of FirstBank in Shelbyville pleaded guilty in federal court in Chattanooga Wednesday to a charge of making a false entry in bank records while he was employed with another local financial institution. Ronald Frank Bell of Shelbyville waived indictment and arraignment and pleaded guilty to making a false entry in bank records in violation of Title 18 United States Code Section 1005.

Fraud victim wired over $2,700 to Canada address (10/28/09)
More information has been released by Shelbyville police about a fraud case involving a local man. The victim told police he received a letter claiming he was the third place winner in the Reader's Digest Sweepstakes Lottery. Enclosed with the letter, which said he had won $60,000, was a check for $2,777 to cover taxes and fees associated with claiming the prize, police said...

City Outreach Ministries in dire need of food donations (10/18/09)
In little more than a month, on Nov. 21, City Outreach Ministries will open its doors for their annual Thanksgiving dinner. Those who come for the community meal usually leave with boxes full of more food for their own Thanksgiving dinner the next week, including hams or turkeys...

Good Samaritan needs more than just food (10/15/09)
In these hard times, Good Samaritan has had its hands full trying to help out those in the community who need it the most. While they always accept donations of food, there are needs in other areas as well. Food drives that have already taken place have kept the shelves stocked at the non-profit organization, thanks to recent mentions in the Times-Gazette, as well as a lot of cash on hand to buy more foodstuffs when needed, according to director Cathy Miller....

Ritch sentencing date set for January (09/23/09)
Jan. 4 is the date when real estate developer Roger Ritch will learn what his punishment will be after he pleaded guilty in federal court in Chattanooga Monday to his involvement in a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme. Ritch along with William McMahan, Jonathan Henderson and Carrie Snow, was charged in May with bank fraud and money laundering in a scheme involving hundreds of homes in Shelbyville...

Good Samaritan shelves are stocked but cash box needs help (09/18/09)
For once, the food pantry at Good Samaritan Association isn't in dire need -- but the coffers are. "We've got plenty of food right now," said Musa Alexander, who has been helping out at the local charity for many years now. "But it's going very fast. We do have a lot of fresh vegetables -- the people here in Shelbyville are so generous. When they find out through your paper that we need stuff, they come with bags and baskets -- and checks in their hands."...

Final fraud suspect will plead guilty (09/03/09)
The final defendant accused of a bank fraud and money laundering conspiracy in Bedford County has filed notice of his intent to plead guilty. Meanwhile, a Shelbyville man who intends to enter his own guilty plea has had a hearing date set. Jonathon B. Henderson gave notice Tuesday of his decision to plead guilty to counts one and four of the federal indictment that was handed down against him and three others in May...

Ritch will admit guilt in fraud case (09/01/09)
Real estate developer Roger Ritch has filed a notice of intent to plead guilty in his involvement in a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme. Ritch of Shelbyville along with William McMahan, Jonathan Henderson and Carrie Snow, all of Murfreesboro, were charged in May with bank fraud and money laundering in an alleged scheme involving hundreds of homes in Shelbyville...

Timely phone call led to grand jury action (03/24/08)
Bedford County's grand jury has indicted a Shelbyville man on theft and traffic charges arising from a December incident that culminated with his arrest at about the time police were interviewing the complainant. With a suspect in custody, an observant officer noticed his prisoner had a cell phone, so he had a fellow officer call the victim's number. The cell phone found on the suspect began to ring, according to police reports...

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