South Jersey Man Admits Cashing Blank Checks In Conspiracy: Feds

SOUTH JERSEY — A South Jersey man admitted this week to cashing fraudulent checks with forged signatures, federal authorities said.

Misty Sarfo-Adu, of Sewell, was previously charged in April with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. He pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler in Camden federal court on Thursday to one count of bank fraud conspiracy and one count of access device fraud conspiracy.

Sarfo-Adu and two coconspirators — Eugene O. Koranteng and Emmanuel S. Yirenkyi, both of Maple Shade, obtained blank checks containing the names and account information of a credit card company's unsuspecting customers, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. It was not immediately clear when the blank checks were obtained.

Koranteng, Yirenkyi and Sarfo-Adu made the checks payable to members of the conspiracy, forged the customers' signatures and negotiated the checks at financial institutions, federal authorities said. Sarfo-Adu admitted that the fraud schemes caused a loss to the credit card company of over $150,000.

In July 2018, Sarfo-Adu messaged Yirenkyi a photo of four blank checks made payable to Koranteng for $8,750 and deposited them into Koranteng's bank account, according to court documents. Another check of the same amount, made payable to another conspirator, was deposited into that conspirator's credit-union account, authorities said.

The three South Jersey residents also deposited other fraudulent checks using customers' credit-card account information into that conspirator's credit-union account, the DOJ said.

If convicted, the count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud carries up to 30 years in prison and a maximum fine of $1 million.

Sentencing for Sarfo-Adu is scheduled for Nov. 28, 2023. Koranteng and Yirenkyi remain charged in criminal complaints.

-With reporting by Josh Bakan.