by Archana Subramaniam by CNB![]()
Roanoke Times Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: THURSDAY, January 9, 1992 TAG: 9201090498 SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO SOURCE: By LAURENCE HAMMACK DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
ROANOKE MAN CONVICTED IN CHECK SCAM
A Roanoke man was convicted Wednesday of participating in a bogus check scam that authorities said netted $500,000 in four states.After a two-day trial in Roanoke Circuit Court, a jury sentenced Robert C. Gearheart to 22 years in prison.
Gearheart, who was convicted of 11 counts of obtaining money by false pretenses, also was ordered to pay a $11,000 fine.
Testimony showed that Gearheart, 30, went to great lengths to plan and conceal a bad-check scam that he took from city to city in Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.
"I would characterize it as a professional scam, very well thought out," Chief Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Betty Jo Anthony said.
Although Anthony said the scheme netted about $500,000, the Roanoke charges on which Gearheart was convicted Wednesday amounted to about $2,800. He faces at least 30 related charges in Salem and Roanoke County, plus more in other states, Anthony said.
Gearheart was charged along with his wife, Vicki DePew, who is awaiting trial on similar charges.
According to testimony, Gearheart was involved in a scheme in which bad checks were cashed by a woman Anthony described as a "mule," who in turn shared the profits.
The outfit would move into town and open a bank account for a fake business. Using "starter checks" that bore no name or address, they then typed in the names of legitimate businesses they selected from the telephone book, complete with correct addresses and telephone numbers.
The checks were made out as payroll sums to several aliases, which the "mule" supported with fake IDs obtained by using altered birth certificates and other documents.
Signatures were formed with rubber stamps to make them appear similar to those on many paychecks. The result, Anthony said, were checks that looked so legitimate that they were often cashed by grocery stores in Roanoke and elsewhere.
Gearheart and DePew were arrested last year, after the "mule" was arrested in North Carolina. A typewriter found in a storage shed rented by Gearheart later was matched to the type style on the checks.
Assistant Public Defender Steve Milani said Gearheart denied the charges, but did not testify or put on any evidence.
Instead, Milani challenged the credibility of the woman who cashed the checks, pointing to her record as a convicted felon and drug user. Milani also cited testimony from the woman that she was involved in the scam long before Gearheart was alleged to have been, and that she wasn't sure he received money from some of the checks.