5 Houston-area residents charged in $1M tax refund scheme

HOUSTON - A federal investigation has led to charges against five Houston-area residents accused of trying to profit more than $1 million from a fake U.S. Treasury refund check.

Federal indictment unsealed in $1M check scheme

The backstory:

The U.S. Attorney's Office reports a 33-count federal indictment filed on July 22 charged five people with passing a counterfeit Treasury check, bank fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering.

According to prosecutors, Torik M. Blade, 39, from Missouri City, allowed someone to deposit a counterfeit U.S. Treasury tax refund check worth $1,052,615.97 into his business account.

Blade then allegedly worked alongside four co-conspirators to get the money by cashing cashier's checks with the fraudulent money, transferring money between different financial institutions, and making direct cash withdrawals.

The accused co-conspirators include Kendra L. Folkes, 37, of Katy; Rickelle D. Taylor, 38, of Spring; Raven N. Morris, 34, and Stephen G. James, 42, both from Houston.

All five defendants have made their initial court appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Yvonne Ho.

What's next:

If convicted, the defendants face severe federal prison time and millions of dollars in potential fines. Blade and his co-defendants face up to 30 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine for each bank fraud count.

Passing the counterfeit check carries a sentence of up to 20 years and a $250,000 fine, while the conspiracy and money laundering charges each carry up to 20 years in prison and $500,000 in fines.