CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A woman was charged with bank fraud after allegedly scheming a business out of 142,000 dollars.
According to a complaint filed within the Southern District of West Virginia, Kathy Darlene Strickmaker, employed by a business in Charleston from 2014 through 2018, worked as an administrative assistant. The company maintained multiple bank accounts, and Strickmaker was responsible for payroll.
Officials say three people cashed and deposited fraudulent checks at the direction of Kathy Strickmaker in Charleston, Alderson, and Beckley. Strickmaker wrote and altered checks on the accounts of the known business. The three people that she paid were not approved by her employer. Strickmaker wrote over 80 checks to the three people, ranging from 800 to 3,300 dollars.
The checks were cashed at Walmart, Kroger, and other local banks in Charleston, Alders, and Beckley. After the three people cashed or deposited the checks, each of the three individuals would keep around 100 dollars from the check and then transfer the rest of the money to another individual at the direction of Strickmaker.
The business suffered a financial loss of around 142,000 dollars due to the fraudulent scheme by Strickmaker, police say.