Defendants in Richmond City Hall Fraud Scheme Plead Guilty

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Updated: 12:46 PM Jul 11, 2011 Defendants in Richmond City Hall Fraud Scheme Plead Guilty RICHMOND, Va. (AP) The last of three defendants in scheme involving checks stolen from Richmond City Hall pleaded guilty Friday to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Posted: 11:17 AM Jul 11, 2011 Email Address: news@newsplex.com

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July 11, 2011

The last of three defendants in scheme involving checks stolen from Richmond City Hall pleaded guilty Friday to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Tonya A. McCann faces a maximum of 30 years in prison, although federal sentencing guidelines likely will call for substantially less time. U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson scheduled sentencing for Oct. 11.

McCann answered a series of routine questions from Hudson in a barely audible voice before being allowed to leave the courthouse on her own recognizance. A bank fraud charge was not prosecuted as part of a plea agreement with the U.S. attorney's office.

Two co-defendants previously cut their own deals with prosecutors and await sentencing in September. Michael L. Morton pleaded guilty to bank fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft, and James Q. Stewart pleaded guilty to bank fraud conspiracy.

According to court records, Stewart had unfettered after-hours access to the mail room and other areas of City Hall, where he was doing work as an information technology contractor. He stole or photocopied business and personal checks that had been mailed to City Hall and sold them to Morton, who used them as templates to make counterfeit checks.

Morton then recruited individuals to cash the bogus checks. He and McCann drove those individuals to various banks and check-cashing businesses, where they cashed the counterfeit checks and split the money. A forfeiture allegation in the indictment put the amount of the checks at nearly $73,000, including about $10,600 in cash that was seized by authorities.

The indictment also said McCann rented a post office box that was used in the conspiracy, which ran from October 2009 until May 2010.

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