2 Sentenced In Family Led Check-Cashing Scheme
SOMERVILLE, N.J. (AP) -- Two New Jersey men are headed to prison for their roles in a family led check-cashing scam that targeted banks in several states.
Twenty-eight-year-old Tonijah Criss of Elizabeth, who was convicted last month of racketeering and other charges, received an eight-year term Friday.
Tihee Brisbane, a 37-year-old Whippany resident convicted of computer theft for taking the personal information of 2,700 Verizon customers, got a three-year sentence.
Prosecutors say Criss' father, 46-year-old Eric Criss of South Orange, led the ring that included two more sons and a stepdaughter. The ring recruited runners and provided them with forged checks, fake identification and cell phones.
Banks in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut and Ohio lost more than $600,000 to the scheme.
The remaining ring members will be sentenced this week.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
