A Lilburn woman was indicted this week by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of fraud conspiracy and wire fraud.
Prosecutors say 48-year-old Monica Mason was involved in a "mystery shopper" scam with alleged co-conspirator Shawn Foote of West Virginia.
News releases and the indictment, which was handed down Tuesday, explain how the scam worked.
Foote, 60, sent counterfeit money orders and checks to people who thought they were acting as mystery shoppers, according to the releases from David J. Hickton, the United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Those shoppers cashed the money orders and checks "to make small purchases for purposes of evaluating the commercial services provided," he said in the releases.
Any excess funds were returned to Mason, Foote and others by wire transfer.
"After these transactions, the money orders and checks were returned as counterfeit by the victims' banks and they were left to repay the bank from their own funds," Hickton said in the releases.
If convicted, Mason faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, a fine of $500,000 or both. She is scheduled to be arraigned April 10, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
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