"The check's in the mail" was more than just a saying for 52-year- old Joseph Mo Pun Lau. He has been indicted in a scheme involving stolen checks mailed by 38 residents of Wilton, Westport and Norwalk, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney David B. Fein.
The 52-year-old Hong Kong man, who was deported back to China three years ago, was also charged with reentering the U.S. illegally.
According to the indictment, Lau used a fake key to a U.S. Postal Service depository box to pilfer mail. He removed 48 checks from the mail and counterfeited them to match fictitious names he used to open bank accounts at Wachovia Bank, Bank of America, JP Morgan and Citibank branches in Connecticut. He then cashed the checks, which totaled over $90,000.
Lau was arrested July 9 in Rockville, N.Y., and has been in custody since. The indictment was returned July 27. Lau was set to be arraigned Thursday in Hartford. Lau was deported in 2007 following his arrest in Pennsylvania in a similar scheme.
The new indictment charges Lau with four counts of bank fraud, three counts of theft of mail, and one count of illegally reentering the United States after having been deported.
If convicted, Lau faces a maximum of 30 years for each bank fraud count, five years for each mail fraud count, and 10 years for reentering the country illegally.
Click here to follow Daily Voice and receive free news updates.
