Ex-City Trainee Nailed in Phony Check Scheme

A former Parks Department trainee was arrested Oct. 15 for cashing a counterfeit city check and attempting to cash another, the Department of Investigation announced.

Craig Ford, who was a job training participant in Parks between October 2006 and March 2007, allegedly cashed a bogus $1,021 city check at a Queens establishment on Sept. 29 and sought to cash a second one for $1,325.80 on Oct. 6. The charges against him include criminal possession of a forged instrument, identity theft and grand larceny. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

Kiting Into Jail

Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn noted in a press release that two other individuals were arrested last November for cashing numerous counterfeit city checks, and subsequently pleaded guilty and were sentenced to terms of 2-1/2 to 5 years and 1-1/2 to 3 years, respectively.

She also stated that the city has put security features in place to identify and stop payment on altered or counterfeit municipal checks. This prevents it from losing money; she noted that the loss for the first fraudulent check cashed by Mr. Ford was borne by the check-cashing establishment, which subsequently cooperated with the probe.