Fraud or error in bookkeeping: Check re-deposit scam happened in Sugar Land

By LeaAnne Klentzman

Sugar Land police are investigating a fraud involving a salon on Brooks Street.

According to the victims, they paid for services at the salon but their checks have been deposited more than once.

As they began to try and figure out how that had happened, they learned that with the new technology available to deposit a check by photograph, allows for that check to be credited to an account more than once.

The original checks were issued to the salon for services rendered dating back to 2011. Then, it appears, copies of previously issued, and cleared checks, have recently been re-deposited into the salon’s account thus pulling that money out of the customer’s account – again.

The customers found the discrepancy and contacted the salon’s owner but she did not provide satisfactory answers, so the women went to police. Their bizarre odyssey did not end there. When trying to report the incident to police some of the women were told since the “incident” likely involved use of a cell phone, they could not determine in whose jurisdiction the “fraud” took place.

The women contacted the “Fort Bend Star” for assistance. They finally got a report taken when the “Star” contacted Assistant City Manager Steve Griffith; head of Sugar Land’s fire and police.

Sugar Land police spokesman Doug Adolph said the four cases are under investigation. The women in these cases want the public to know about this kind of fraud before it happens to them.

Whether it is fraud or bad bookkeeping, it is critical to keep a watch over banking documents in today’s computerized world.

Although only four cases have been reported thus far, it is possible that others are out there. Anyone who has been a victim of this scam needs to contact Sugar Land Police Department at 281-275-2500.

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Posted by FortBendStar on Sep 26 2012. Filed under Crime. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.