Franchesca Calagui, 25, and Dondre Gray, 27, have been indicted on multiple federal charges related to an alleged bank fraud scheme that involved stolen and forged U.S. Treasury checks, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California announced Thursday.
Calagui, a former associate banker at JPMorgan Chase Bank, and Gray are accused of conspiring between May 2022 and March 2023 to cash forged Treasury checks. The defendants allegedly used Calagui’s position at the Deer Valley branch of Chase Bank to bypass security measures, allowing noncustomers to cash fraudulent checks without proper verification.
According to court documents, Calagui and Gray recruited “runners” to forge endorsements on the stolen checks and present them for cashing. The runners received a portion of the proceeds, while the bulk of the funds allegedly went to Calagui and Gray.
The scheme reportedly involved at least 339 forged Treasury checks, amounting to approximately $850,000. Gray is accused of depositing about $71,000 from the scheme into his personal bank accounts, while Calagui allegedly deposited around $15,000 into hers.
In the final two weeks of the scheme, before Calagui went on maternity leave, she is said to have cashed more than $190,000 in fraudulent checks.
If convicted on all counts, the defendants face up to 30 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $1 million for each charge.
As with all indictments, the charges are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
