FBI uncovers cashing of tampered refund checks

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has uncovered a scheme of cashing fraudulent CNMI tax refund checks in grocery stores on Saipan.

FBI agents arrested on Monday one suspect, Mohammad Jahangir Miah, who is on home confinement for his conviction in a driver’s license scam at the Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

According to court papers, the FBI was doing an undercover operation on the case Monday afternoon when their cover was blown after Miah frisked the FBI’s “confidential source” and found recording wires hidden beneath the “source’s” shirt. This prompted the FBI agents to proceed to Miah’s house and arrested him on charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

FBI special agent Haejun Park stated in an affidavit that the investigation began after the “confidential source” voluntarily came forward to report that he/she had been cashing fraudulent CNMI tax refund checks at the behest of Miah.

Park said the “confidential source” told him that Miah obtains CNMI tax refund checks from an unknown source, changes the name on the checks, and then has people cash them at local grocery stores.

Allegedly, Miah would send his girlfriend with these people so that she can immediately get the cash after the check is cashed.

The “confidential source” indicated that Miah himself does not cash the checks because he is on home confinement and is wearing a tracking ankle bracelet.

The “confidential source” disclosed that he/she had cashed four fraudulent CNMI tax refund checks at Miah’s direction. In each transaction, the “confidential source” was accompanied by Miah’s girlfriend and was allowed to buy $60 to $80 worth of groceries.

Park said the “confidential source” provided him with the stubs from one of these checks, showing check number 202996.

The “confidential source” allegedly disclosed that Miah claims to have many more CNMI refund checks for altering and cashing.

In another interview with the “confidential source,” Park said the “source” gave him the stubs from two more checks that he/she had cashed for Miah, reflecting check numbers 140005 and 235951.

Park said the “confidential source” believes that other men regularly seen at Miah’s house help with the check alteration but that he/she had never seen them do this.

Park said he met with Finance Secretary Larissa Larson and CNMI Treasurer Asuncion Agulto on Feb. 3, 2012, and the two provided him with the originals of CNMI tax refund check numbers 202996, 140005, and 235951, confirming that these checks had been fraudulently altered and cashed.

Park said all the checks were drawn on accounts held at Bank of Guam.

Park said that, on Feb. 11, 2012, they did a video and audio surveillance of a meeting between the “confidential source” and Miah at the suspect’s house. In that meeting, Miah allegedly discussed but did not identify his source for the checks. Park said that Miah indicated that his source of the checks receives a 50-percent cut of the check value.

In that meeting, Park said the suspect was seen using a laptop computer as he and the “confidential source” discussed the check-cashing scheme.

Park said they did another surveillance of a meeting between the “confidential source” and Miah at the suspect’s house on March 15. In that meeting, Park said that Miah was again seen using a laptop while discussing the check-cashing scheme.

Miah also allegedly told the “confidential source” that he will not use him/her to cash any more checks until the “confidential source” pays him the money he owes him.

In a handwritten note issued Monday and later filed in court, Park said that they conducted a consensual monitoring of Miah on that day at Miah’s house using the “confidential source.”

In that meeting, Miah allegedly frisked the “confidential source” for possible recording equipment and found the recording wires hidden beneath the shirt.

When the “confidential source” texted him that Miah had found the wires, Park said he instructed the “source” to leave Miah’s house immediately.

Park said that he and another special agent immediately went to Miah’s housing, fearing that he may destroy any evidence related to his criminal activity. They then arrested the suspect.

On Aug. 19, 2011, Miah, one of five suspects in a driver’s license scam at DPS, pleaded guilty in federal court to a count of conspiring to unlawfully produce and transfer identification documents. He was placed on home confinement pending his sentencing, which will be on Friday.