An aspiring Los Angeles-area rapper was arrested Wednesday in connection with a multimillion-dollar stolen check-cashing scheme connected to stolen tax refunds, federal officials announced Friday.
Ada William Obayuwana, who goes by the stage names “ColdheartedAC” and “AC,” is one of three defendants charged in a 25-count federal grand jury indictment alleging the trio possessed more than 50 stolen U.S. Treasury checks worth more than $8.1 million, then cashed or attempted to cash them at lenders throughout Southern California, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.
According to the indictment, Obayuwana and fellow suspects Albert Tai Vu, 28, of Westminster, and Cassandra Marie Murillo, 31, of San Diego, obtained the stolen checks and then forged endorsements or altered names and addresses on them to steal the funds.
“The defendants opened bank accounts for the purpose of receiving the fraudulently transferred funds,” the DOJ said. “Sometimes, they used business documents mimicking the names and other identifiers of the victims to cash stolen checks.”…