Lang
6/5/22
An Iowa City woman is behind bars after allegedly tricking a victim in a fraudulent check-cashing scheme that cost a local bank branch thousands of dollars.
45-year-old Latoya Coleman of South Governor Street was booked into the Johnson County Jail just after 10:30 Saturday night. Iowa City Police say over the course of six days last February, Coleman had the victim deposit seven different checks into their account at MidWestOne Bank. The deposits were allegedly made at the bank’s Keokuk Street branch, where the victim then removed cash from the same account and gave it to Coleman.
Police say Coleman told the victim that she needed to cash checks, but could not do so on her own because of a lack of a bank account and/or an ID.
The seven checks reportedly inflated the victim’s bank account by $3,480, with the extra money then being given to Coleman. Coleman is charged with 2nd Degree Theft and Forgery. If convicted, she faces a maximum of ten years in prison.