Orlando, Florida - Lavitress Williams (39, Orlando) has pleaded guilty to five counts of wire fraud and five counts of passing counterfeit checks. She faces up to 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud count, and up to 10 years’ imprisonment for each count of passing a counterfeit check. Williams will also be ordered to pay restitution to her victims.
According to court documents, in 2013, Williams was sentenced to five years and three months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for participating in a scheme involving counterfeit travelers’ checks that were passed at Target stores located throughout the southeastern United States. After she was released from prison, and while serving on federal supervised release, Williams engaged in another fraud scheme in which she passed counterfeit checks at Walgreens and CVS stores in central Florida.
Over the course of more than five months, Williams passed, or attempted to pass, counterfeit checks at more than 30 drugstores. The total amount of actual and attempted losses associated with the scheme is estimated at over $60,000.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, with assistance from the Eatonville Police Department, the Maitland Police Department, the Orlando Police Department, the Winter Park Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Marshals Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
