This piece summarizes a federal indictment accusing three people of running a scheme that involved more than 50 stolen U.S. Treasury checks and hundreds of other checks, with alleged losses topping $8.1 million and arrests and court dates unfolding in Southern California.
Federal prosecutors returned a 25-count grand jury indictment charging three people with possessing and trying to cash a large stash of stolen checks that allegedly total more than $8.1 million. The case includes more than 50 stolen U.S. Treasury checks and hundreds of additional checks tied to individuals and businesses, with allegations that the defendants forged endorsements and altered names and addresses to steal funds. Authorities say the activity stretched across multiple counties in Southern California.
An aspiring rapper is identified among the defendants and law enforcement says the suspects tried to cash the stolen checks at lenders and financial institutions around the region. Ada William Obayuwana was arrested and made an initial appearance in Los Angeles federal court; his detention hearing is scheduled for today and he remains in federal custody. Albert Tai Vu was arrested on Thursday and is expected to make an initial appearance this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, and Cassandra Marie Murrillo is expected to surrender to federal authorities on Monday.
The indictment names Ada William Obayuwana, 31, a.k.a. “ColdheartedAC” and “AC,” of Quartz Hill, Albert Tai Vu, 28, of Westminster, and Cassandra Marie Murrillo, 31, of San Diego. Obayuwana is charged with nine counts of bank fraud, three counts of delivering stolen Treasury checks, and one count of aggravated identity theft. Vu faces nine counts in total including five counts of delivering stolen Treasury checks, four counts of money laundering, and two counts of aggravated identity theft, while Murrillo is charged with nine counts of bank fraud plus an additional count of delivering stolen Treasury checks.
According to the indictment, the alleged scheme ran from at least April 2022 through December 2023 and involved stolen Treasury checks that contained tax refunds, veterans’ benefits, and Social Security Administration benefits. Prosecutors say the defendants obtained and possessed the stolen checks, forged endorsements, and altered names and addresses to funnel the payments into accounts they controlled. Those actions, officials allege, were part of a coordinated effort to monetize stolen federal payments and other checks.
Investigators say the defendants opened bank accounts and sometimes used phony business documents that mimicked victims’ names and other identifiers to cash the stolen checks. Stolen funds were then deposited into accounts at bank and credit union branches in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties, creating a trail of transactions that federal agents followed. Those deposits and transfers are central to the money laundering and bank fraud counts in the indictment.
Prosecutors tied specific amounts to individual defendants. From April 2022 to December 2023, Obayuwana attempted to cash at least three Treasury tax refund checks with a total value of approximately $382,109 and successfully cashed one of those checks, withdrawing about $229,109 from bank accounts. In December 2023, authorities say Obayuwana had more than 100 stolen or fraudulent checks in his car in Oceanside, cumulatively worth more than $6.1 million, including 48 stolen U.S. Treasury checks estimated at $2,555,417. Of those, eight were allegedly successfully cashed for roughly $1,701,507.
Vu is accused of attempting to cash at least six Treasury checks with a combined value of $2,151,391 and of successfully cashing two tax refund checks worth $772,159. Murrillo allegedly attempted to cash two checks totaling $60,193 and successfully cashed one check valued at $31,405. Those figures are part of the government’s accounting of the scheme’s scope and form the basis for several of the indictment’s counts.
Federal prosecutors also say Vu executed two cashier’s checks in April 2023, each for $250,000, at a bank in Anaheim using funds from a None to Lose LLC account that allegedly derived from unlawful activity. One of those cashier’s checks was paid out to a co-schemer’s LLC and used to buy a Range Rover, while the other was paid to Murrillo. The transactions are cited as examples of how proceeds moved from illicit check cashing into major purchases and apparent attempts to conceal the origin of funds.
Obayuwana and Vu are accused of using stolen identities to further their alleged bank fraud activities, a tactic prosecutors say helped them bypass routine verification and siphon federal payments. An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted, the defendants face serious statutory penalties: a maximum of 30 years in federal prison for each bank fraud count, up to 10 years for each counterfeit Treasury check or money laundering-related count, and a mandatory consecutive two-year federal prison sentence for each count of aggravated identity theft. The United States Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, and the United States Postal Inspection Service are investigating. Assistant United States Attorney Diane Roldán of the Major Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.
