Woman pleads guilty in $1.6 million counterfeit Series I savings bond scheme

Summer Marie Creech, along with co-conspirators, reaped over $1.6 million in profit from counterfeit Series 1 savings bonds over a period of three years.

JimMin JimMin
Oct 5, 2023 - 21:05
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Woman pleads guilty in $1.6 million counterfeit Series I savings bond scheme

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WASHINGTON — A woman pled guilty to helping process over $1.6 million in counterfeit Treasury Department Series I savings bonds through financial institutions around the country, the Justice Department announced on Thursday.

Summer Marie Creech, 45, of Fontana, California, entered a guilty plea on Wednesday for conspiracy to make, pass and transfer counterfeit U.S. securities and passing counterfeit U.S. securities. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Creech forged counterfeit bonds using authentic bond numbers and sent them to co-conspirators who used stolen identification to negotiate the forgeries at financial institutions in the Southern District of Texas and other locations, according to the DOJ. The conspirators then split the profits.

The plot occurred over a three-year period, according to Creech's co-conspirator, Daniel Alan Lewis. Lewis pled guilty on May 1 to passing counterfeit bonds through banks in the Houston and Brownsville areas of Texas, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced.

Series I bonds rose in popularity as the country experienced a period of high inflation during the pandemic. Because they offer fixed rate and inflation-adjusted variable rate returns, I bonds are considered a safe place to store cash during an inflationary period.

Creech is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 20.