ROSCOMMON COUNTY, Mich. – A Michigan woman who claims she had no knowledge of the scheme was arrested for depositing thousands of dollars’ worth of fake checks into several banks, according to Michigan State Police.
Officials said Linda Elaine Laux, 65, of St. Helen tried to open a business account with a fraudulent check in the amount of $19,000 and deposited a fraudulent check in the amount of $17,800 into another account.
Laux made the deposit on Aug. 22 and withdrew %500 on Aug. 24, according to authorities. She went back Aug. 26 and withdrew $5,000 from the account, police said.
After the second withdrawal, bank workers were able to verify that the check was fake, officials said. The account was frozen and bank workers called police.
Investigators said Laux was receiving the fake checks from an out-of-state source and sending a portion of the withdrawals back to that source.
She claimed she had no knowledge of the scam, police said.
Laux was previously investigated in 2018 for similar actions, according to authorities.
Laux was arrested Wednesday and taken to the Roscommon County Jail. She was arraigned at 82nd District Court on one count of uttering and publishing -- a felony punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Officials said Laux was released on a $10,000, 10% bond. She is scheduled to return to court Dec. 23 for a felony pretrial.