BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBMA) — A central Alabama man has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for his role as the “ringleader” in a multi-state bank fraud scheme involving fraudulent U.S. Treasury checks, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Eddarrius Tyjuan Wallace, 37, of York, Alabama, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Anna M. Manasco to 60 months in prison and fined $25,000. Wallace pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud.
According to court documents, Wallace organized and managed the scheme between June and September 2023. Prosecutors said he recruited and trained other participants to fraudulently deposit and withdraw funds from U.S. Treasury checks in Alabama and Mississippi.
The investigation began after a Tuscaloosa bank reported in June 2023 that two Treasury checks bearing forged endorsements had been deposited. Authorities…
PAYROLL & HR CONTROLS (PREVENTING “GHOST” SCHEMES)
Payroll fraud is often the hardest to detect because it “looks” like a normal business expense.
- Segregation of Duties (SoD): The person who adds new employees to the system must not be the same person who approves the monthly pay run.
- Mandatory Vacation Policy: Require all financial and HR staff to take 5–10 consecutive days of leave annually. Fraud often surfaces when the perpetrator isn’t there to “hide” the trail.
- Ghost Employee Audit: Perform a quarterly “Headcount Reconciliation” where managers must physically verify every name on their payroll list exists.
- Self-Pay Blocking: Ensure the payroll software has a hard-coded block preventing administrators from editing their own salary or bank details.