What started as a string of suspicious withdrawals at Bay Area banks has ended with three New Yorkers in the Sonoma County Jail, after deputies say they cracked an organized bank fraud scheme that stretched nearly 3,000 miles.
Authorities identified the suspects as Carleen McGeachie, 42, Richard Logan, 33, and Heaven Richards, 25. Detectives say the trio was arrested without incident and booked into the Sonoma County Jail. A search tied to the case at a Vacaville hotel turned up cash along with fraudulent identification and credit cards, according to the sheriff’s office.
Monthslong probe ends with surveillance arrests
Detectives did not stumble onto this one overnight. According to CBS News, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office spent months tracking the alleged operation, putting suspects under surveillance after what deputies describe as multiple attempts to withdraw money at Bay Area banks.
The three were taken into custody during that surveillance effort, and jail records show they were scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, CBS News reports. Deputies did not disclose where in New York the suspects live.
Vacaville hotel search turns up cash and fake IDs
As part of the investigation, Sonoma County detectives served a search warrant at a Vacaville hotel room they say was linked to the case. There, they recovered more than $15,000 in cash, along with fraudulent identification cards and credit cards, according to reporting by SFGATE…