Crime & Safety
OC Man Charged In $8.1M Stolen Checks Scheme
The rapper known as "ColdheartedAC" was named in a scheme involving stolen tax returns, social security and veteran's benefits, police said.
LOS ANGELES, CA — An aspiring Los Angeles County rapper was among three defendants charged with allegedly having illegally obtained and possessed stolen checks totaling more than $8.1 million, including more than 50 U.S. Treasury checks, officials announced Friday.
Ada William Obayuwana, 31, also known as "ColdheartedAC," of Quartz Hill, is charged in federal court alongside Albert Tai Vu, 28, of Westminster, and Cassandra Marie Murrillo, 31, of San Diego, with nine counts of bank fraud.
Obayuwana is also charged with three counts of delivering stolen Treasury checks and one count of aggravated identity theft. Vu is charged with five counts of delivering stolen Treasury checks, four counts of money laundering, and two counts of aggravated identity theft. Murillo is charged with an additional count of delivering stolen Treasury checks, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
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The stolen Treasury checks contained tax refunds, veterans' benefits and Social Security Administration benefits. The defendants allegedly forged endorsements on the Treasury checks or altered names and addresses, authorities said.
Prosecutors say bank accounts were opened for the purpose of receiving fraudulently transferred funds. Business documents mimicking the names and other identifying information of victims were sometimes used to cash the checks, officials contend.
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The U.S. Attorney's Office alleges the trio then deposited stolen funds into accounts at bank and credit union branches in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties.
In December 2023, prosecutors allege, Obayuwana had in his car in Oceanside more than 100 stolen or fraudulent checks, cumulatively worth more than $6.1 million. Among the checks were 48 stolen Treasury checks worth about $2.55 million in tax refunds, veterans' benefits and SSA benefits. Eight of the checks were successfully cashed for a total of nearly $1.7 million, court papers show.
If convicted, the defendants would each face up to 30 years in federal prison for each bank fraud count, up to 10 years for each counterfeit Treasury check- and money laundering-related count, and a mandatory consecutive two-year term for each count of aggravated identity theft, prosecutors said.
A detention hearing for Obayuwana in Los Angeles federal court is expected Friday afternoon.
Vu was arrested Thursday and is due in court Friday for his initial appearance. Murrillo is expected to surrender to authorities Monday in downtown Los Angeles.
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