Bergen Woman Sentenced To 2 Years For $1.7M Check Fraud Scheme

BERGEN COUNTY, N.J. — A Bergen County woman was sentenced to 25 months in prison for her role in a check fraud scheme that resulted in at least a $1.7 million loss to banks.

U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty imposed the sentence on Chunhua Jin, 46, of Ridgefield, Thursday after Jin previously pleaded guilty to bank fraud conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said.

From July 2014 to April 2015, Jin and others opened bank accounts using fake business names and then made small deposits and withdrawals to make the accounts appear legitimate, Fishman said.

One of the conspirators would deposit a fake check for a large dollar amount into an account and the banks would credit all or some of the money to the account. The conspirators then withdrew as much money as possible from the account before the bank realized the check was fake and blocked further withdrawals, Fishman said.

Jin and the others withdrew cash from ATMs, submitted cash withdrawal slips and made debit card purchases on merchandise that resulted in at least a $1.7 million loss to the banks, Fishman said.

McNulty also sentenced Jin to five years of supervised release and ordered restitution and forfeiture of the $1.7 million, Fishman said.

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