A New Gloucester man pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday to wire fraud charges after he deposited counterfeit U.S. Treasury checks.
[RELATED: Maine State Police Warns of Rise in Counterfeit Cash Across the State…]
From May through June 2024, Keith Mitchell, 38, of New Gloucester, deposited eight counterfeit U.S. Treasury checks worth a total of $40,379 into his bank account.
According to court documents, Mitchell’s checks included the serial numbers of real Treasury checks issued to other individuals.
Mitchell then falsified the checks to make them appear payable to him.
The counterfeit checks weren’t Mitchell’s only fraudulent scheme.
In 2021, he applied for and received a fully forgivable Covid-era Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan worth $20,832. When applying for the loan, Mitchell falsely claimed to be the sole owner of a company that earned $100,000 in revenue in 2020.
He also falsified a tax return to support his PPP application.
Mitchell faces up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
