Woman sentenced to 21 months for bank fraud
BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) – An Illinois woman was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for bank fraud.
According to court records, Abbi L. Sullivan, 22, of Normal, Illinois, traveled to Idaho with at least three co-defendants in May 2020. On May 6, 2020, Sullivan cashed counterfeit checks at two First Interstate Bank branches in the Treasure Valley. The counterfeit checks had the logo and business information for the company accountholder along with a forgery of the account owner’s signature. The checks were payable to Sullivan. Sullivan presented her Illinois identification card to cash the counterfeit checks. Sullivan falsely told the bank teller that she sold some property to the company whose name appeared on the check. In addition to the checks in Idaho, Sullivan traveled with other co-conspirators to other states, including California, Ohio, and Massachusetts, to cash and attempt to cash counterfeit checks.
Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Sullivan to serve five years of supervised release following her prison sentence and to pay $20,209.66 in restitution.
Co-defendants Jakara B. Edwards, 24, and Tatyana A. Love, 21, both of Chicago, pleaded guilty on October 19, 2021, to bank fraud. Edwards and Love are scheduled to be sentenced on June 27, 2022.
U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr., of the District of Idaho made the announcement and commended the cooperative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ada County Sheriff's Office, Boise Police Department, Garden City Police Department, Meridian Police Department, Nampa Police Department, Chicago Police Department, Ellisville Police Department, Fort Atkinson Police Department, Gahanna Police Department, Johnson Creek Police Department, Montgomery Township Police Department, Normal Police Department, Peoria County Sheriff’s Office, Redwood City Police Department, San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, Sioux Falls Police Department, Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, Stockton Police Department, Waltham Police Department, and the Wellesley Police Department, which led to charges.
