A grand jury has indicted 37 people in connection with a counterfeit check ring that spanned four different counties, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley announced Friday.
The 95-count indictment accuses 42-year-old Montrea Donaldson of directing the ring and emlpoying numerous individuals to cash the fraudulent checks at multiple locations until the accounts were flagged for fraud. Investigators say over 75 fake checks were produced for over $156,000, while around 56 were cashed for a total of $83,224.
“These crimes disrupted the lives and businesses of dozens of victims,” Prosecutor O’Malley said. “It is my intent to disrupt Donaldson’s life with a lengthy prison sentence as I believe we are just scratching the surface of this scam.”
The alleged crimes took place in Cuyahoga, Lake, Portage, and Summit Counties. Donaldson is scheduled to be arraigned on Mar. 6.
