Berks man wanted in check-fraud ring arrested in Kenhorst

Steven Henshaw, Reading Eagle, Pa.
·2 min read

Feb. 24—A Muhlenberg Township man sought by Spring Township police as a leader of a check-fraud ring was apprehended Wednesday morning in Kenhorst.

Isaiah Egziabher, 20, was found in a parked vehicle with two other people on Fern Avenue, Spring Criminal Investigator Cory Huntsinger said.

The arrest came five days after Spring police, assisted by Muhlenberg police, went to Egziabher's residence in the 1600 block of Buchanon Drive in the Temple area after getting arrest and search warrants signed by District Judge Ann L. Young, Wernersville, as part of a yearlong investigation.

Investigators seized a laptop, printers, check paper, a victim's checkbook and additional computer-related items. Some of the checks fraudulently produced were reproductions of legitimate checks of businesses and individuals, and the total loss in the case was in excess of $150,000, police said.

Huntsinger initiated the investigation in January 2020 after Diamond Credit Union reported multiple instances of check fraud utilizing the credit union's accounts.

In such a scheme, perpetrators attract partners through social media advertisements, targeting vulnerable people, such as those who are unemployed, with offers of quick cash in return for their participation, Huntsinger explained.

The partners are paid to provide their debit card account information so bogus checks can be electronically deposited, then quickly withdrawn through an ATM or a money-transfer app such as PayPal, he said.

Huntsinger charged Egziabher on Friday with two counts each of forgery, unauthorized use of a computer, theft by deception and related counts.

Egziabher was committed to Berks County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail following arraignment Wednesday afternoon before Young.

Three others whom police described as ring leaders were previously arrested.

They were identified as Mohammed B. Bayoh, 29, who was arrested Friday at his home in the 300 block of James Street, Sinking Spring; Anthony T. Sako, 21, who was arrested on drug charges in September and has a last known address in the 300 block of Fisher Lane; and Steven Webb-Jackson, 22, who was arrested in September at his home in the 200 block of North Fourth Street.

Bayoh was committed to Berks County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail following arraignment Friday afternoon before District Judge Ann L. Young. Sako and Webb-Jackson were already jailed on other charges.