Nigerian couple accused of counterfeit check scheme

Prosper

A Garnerville couple allegedly withdrew hundreds of thousands of dollars from bank accounts that were beefed up with counterfeit checks, police said.

Henry Orji, 36, and Miriam Orji, 34, were arrested and charged with felony counts of second-degree grand larceny and second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, state police said on Wednesday. The arrests were made following an investigation by state police and the Special Investigations Unit of the Rockland County District Attorney's Office.

The Orjis are accused of using fraudulent identification to open bank accounts, which they then allegedly deposited counterfeit checks into, police said. The couple was then allegedly able to withdraw hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Henry and Miriam Orji were arraigned in Spring Valley Village Court and are being held on $750,000 bail and $1,000,000 bail, respectively, police said. They are scheduled to appear in court again on July 28.

The state Department of Taxation and Finance, U.S. State Department and U.S. Postal Inspection Service also helped with the investigation.

Twitter: @MattSpillane