Woman used fake account in fraud plot, LV police say
Las Vegas police have arrested a woman accused of using a fake Fortune 500 company bank account to defraud a Las Vegas credit union out of more than $30,000.
Adriana Natalia Jimenez, 30, of Las Vegas, was booked at the Clark County Detention Center on Aug. 27 on one felony count of theft of more than $25,000.
A police arrest report for Jimenez said that she was taken into custody after a woman defrauded Mountain America Credit Union out of $30,344 earlier this year.
The investigation leading to Jimenez’s arrest started in Minnesota in January when a business manager of a company there reported to authorities a fraud with ties to Las Vegas.
The business manager said the company he works for had written and mailed a check to Fortune 500 company Archer-daniels-midland in Chicago for $34,860.
The business manager said he was surprised when ADM called him a month later and asked for the payment he already had mailed.
The business manager then contacted his company’s bank and learned the check was cashed at Mountain America Credit Union, 7280 W. Lake Mead Blvd., under a Nevada limited liability corporation called “ADM.”
“(The man) knew that could not be that case, because ADM was a Fortune 500 company and not an LLC,” police said.
Las Vegas police opened an investigation and confirmed through the Nevada Business Registry that on Jan. 4, the ADM LLC was awarded to Jimenez.
Police said they went to the credit union and obtained records and photos of Jimenez opening a business account there and depositing the check that was issued by the Minnesota company to Archer-daniels-midland.
“It is believed the check was stolen from the mail,” police said, adding that after the deposit, someone withdrew more than $30,000 from the credit union account via seven transactions.
The credit union endured the loss, police said, and refunded the money to the Minnesota company’s bank.
On Saturday, police arrested Jimenez at an apartment complex on North Rainbow Boulevard.
A detective, police said, showed Jimenez photos of the woman who opened the account and deposited the ADM check at the credit union.
Jimenez, police said, then confirmed that she was the woman in the photos.
Las Vegas Justice Court records show Jimenez has been released from custody after posting bail.
She is scheduled to return to court on Sept. 27 to learn whether formal charges in the case will be filed by Clark County prosecutors.
Court records do not list a defense attorney for the woman.