15 Month Sentence for Man Convicted of Check Deposit Scheme

A used car dealer was sentenced to 15 months in prison Wednesday for altering and re-depositing checks that customers made out to his dealership. 

Taurus F. Dean Sr., 44, a Centreville resident, owned the Leggs Automotive Group in Columbia, MD. Federal prosecutors said Dean sold cars to other dealers and a car auction company, and would use his banks’ remote deposit system to deposit the legitimate checks. Begining in Nov. 2010, though, he started to alter check numbers and re-deposit checks, sometimes numerous times. 

Dean would sometimes use the funds for business expenses, but he also used the money for clothing, vacations and entertainment, according to a news release from Rod Rosenstein, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland. 

U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. ordered Dean to repay $139,788 to the banks and insurance company that suffered losses. Following the prison term, Dean will also be on five years supervised release. 

U.S. Secret Service investigated the case as part of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which includes representatives from both federal and local law enforcement, among others.