Lehigh Acres man arrested in connection with Lee School District check scam
FORT MYERS, Fla. - Deputies have arrested a Lehigh Acres man as part of an ongoing investigation into the fraudulent use of the Lee School District payroll account.
Matthew Ryan McDonald, 27, of the 2900 block of Southwest 42nd Street, was arrested Monday and is facing charges of uttering forged checks and grand theft.
Deputies say McDonald and the four women arrested before him, cashed checks at Walmart and Check Cashing stores throughout Lee County.
The account information used on the checks belonged to the Lee County School District's payroll account. It is unknown how the checking account numbers were compromised.
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FORT MYERS, Fla. - Three additional arrests have been made in connection with the fraudulent use of the Lee County School District's payroll account.
Diana K. Thar, 46, of North Fort Myers, Roshonda Roshelle Franklin, 20, and Ebony Denise Powell, 23, both of Lehigh Acres, were arrested Wednesday for their involvement in cashing fraudulent checks using the district's Bank of America payroll account number.
Deputies say the women cashed checks at several Walmart and Check Cashing Stores throughout Lee County.
Lee deputies arrested Tina Michelle Groff, 27, on Tuesday after she used her real name on a check for $1884.32 at a North Fort Myers Walmart store.
All four women, who face charges of uttering forged checks and grand theft, were identified through video surveillance.
According to Lee arrest reports, on April 23, the Lee County School District reported the activity after being alerted by their bank.
The school district's financial director examined the fraudulent checks and determined the account information and computer generated signatures of school personnel were authentic. However, the names on the checks did not belong to district employees, reports said.
It is not known how the checking account numbers were compromised since all the school district's checks were accounted for.
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