Grand Jury Indicts Champaign Couple Charged in Counterfeit Check Scheme

URBANA, Ill. – Initial appearances have been scheduled for two Champaign, Ill., residents facing charges of engaging in a counterfeit check scheme. Stephanie Lemons, 41, of the 1300 block of Hanover, and Tommie Slayton, 34, of the 3700 block of Harbor Estates Lane, are scheduled to appear for arraignment in federal court in Urbana on June 19, 2019.

The federal grand jury in Springfield returned a 20-count indictment on June 5, 2019, that charges the couple with conspiring together and with others to engage in a scheme to pass more than 120 counterfeit checks from July through December 2018. The indictment alleges that during this time, Lemons and Slayton made and presented counterfeit checks at Walmart Stores in Champaign and Bloomington, Ill., and forged checks at Heartland Bank.

Specifically, both Lemons and Slayton are charged with one count of conspiracy to engage in the scheme. In addition, Lemons is charged with six counts of counterfeit securities fraud, six counts of wire fraud, and seven counts of bank fraud. In addition to the conspiracy charge, Slayton is charged, along with Lemons, with the seven counts of bank fraud.

If convicted, the maximum statutory penalty for conspiracy is five years in prison; for each count of counterfeit securities fraud, the maximum penalty is ten years in prison; wire fraud carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison for each offense; and, for bank fraud, the penalty is up to 30 years in prison.

The charges are the result of investigation by the FDIC Office of Inspector General and the Champaign and Urbana Police Departments, in cooperation with the Champaign County State’s Attorney’s Office. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elly M. Peirson and Meredith T. Reiter in the prosecution.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment is merely an accusation; each defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.