NORTH CAROLINA – Kites are high flying off the coast of Carolina. But one kite in particular is catching everyone's eyes. In the air is a kite, made of checks.
Darren Kennedy, a criminal new to fraud, had heard about a fraud scheme called Check Kiting. Not taking any time to research what it was, he proceeded to create a kite made entirely of blank checks.
Taking his flying contraption to the local beach, Darren was quickly confused at the lack of payout. No money showed up; there was no victim defrauded. Instead, Darren became entranced by the loopty-loops he made in the sky. Time flew by like his kite made of checks did. It was a magical day on the windy beach; he even got a hot dog and an ice cream. And then he built sandcastles in the sand. People were in awe of his building skills.
Had Darren taken the time to learn about the fraud he thought he was attempting to perpetrate, he would have found out that Check Kiting is the utilization of checks to create unauthorized credit. Check kiters (the fraudulent kind) will use multiple accounts, depositing checks that do not have funds to cover the draft. Prior to a return taking place, a deposit from another account will occur. This creates a cycle, which requires higher dollar amounts and more accounts to keep it going. Eventually the perpetrator will either not be able to continue the activity, or they will cash out, crashing the kite. Darren didn’t know any of this when he took to flying his check kite. And yet, he had a wonderful time at the beach.
“I’m going back tomorrow,” he says. “Flying a kite on the beach beats committing fraud any day.” We wish Darren well in his beach endeavors and hope that he enters sand castle building competitions rather than live a life of fraud.