When someone created an authentic-looking fake check in March 2022 that redirected $326,456 in Erie County taxpayer money to an out-of-state bank account, it was feared that money was lost to criminals forever since the theft wasn’t discovered until a year later.
But on Wednesday, the U.S. Secret Service called the Erie County Clerk’s Office with good news: Bank of America, which held the out-of-state account, thought something was fishy and flagged the account before anyone in Erie County even realized the money was missing.
No one had been permitted to withdraw the funds.
Jeffrey Burr, special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service Buffalo Field Office, said Wednesday that he could not comment on the investigation into the theft, but he did confirm that the money has been secured.
“Our investigation was able to find where the money resided and was able to get it returned to the county,” he said.
County Clerk Michael “Mickey” Kearns expressed his appreciation to the U.S. Secret Service and all other investigators who worked on recovering the money.
“Everyone’s been working as a team,” he said. “The most important thing is to make sure of the recovery of those funds for taxpayers.”
Changes have also been made in the Clerk’s Office so that no check from his office can be intercepted this way again, he said.
A check for $326,456 issued by the Erie County Clerk’s Office to a state agency in March…
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