New York Woman Xue Fang Cheng, 55, Charged in $1.1 Million Illegal Check Cashing Scheme
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on October 26 that Xue Fang Cheng, 55, a Chinese woman from New York, was arrested that day. A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York had already indicted her, charging her with providing illegal check cashing services in a case involving about $1.1 million.
According to the Justice Department, the indictment was returned by the federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York on October 23, charging Cheng with operating a check cashing business without a license. The department billed the case as an illegal check cashing scheme involving about $1.1 million, and she was taken into custody by law enforcement on October 26.
Check cashing is a service that converts checks into cash for customers; operators must be licensed as required by law and comply with financial regulatory requirements. Providing such services without a license means operating outside the regulatory framework, which constitutes illegal check cashing and can bring criminal liability.
In announcing the case, the Justice Department noted that the contents of the indictment are, at this stage, allegations only and remain to be tried in court; the case will be heard in the federal court for the Eastern District of New York, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until she is proven guilty in a court of law.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Ajay Suresh / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
