KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A woman who used stolen identities to rent properties in metro Kansas City could face prison time in a $1.9 million fraudulent check scheme.

The US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri announced that on Wednesday, November 13, Briauna L. Adams, 28, of Kansas City, Missouri, was charged federally with a scheme to use stolen identities to deposit fraudulent checks. About $1.9 million was stolen from US Treasury as a result.

Judicial officials noted that Adams, who was arrested Thursday, was charged in a seven-count criminal complaint filed in US District Court. She remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing.

An affidavit filed in court revealed Adams used a stolen identity to open a bank account on March 12. About two hours later, she deposited a stolen US Treasury check in the amount of $10,590. The check was flagged as suspicious and was not credited to the account.

Investigators said a Louisiana woman told them she expected the same check from Internal Revenue Service and had recently been a victim of identity theft.

Court records indicated that again on June 18, Adams allegedly deposited a fraudulent check for $450,504 into a recently opened investment account. A 10-day hold was placed on most of the balance, however access was granted to some of the funds in good faith. She transferred $12,000 from the account to two personal bank accounts.

Hours after both transfers were completed, investigators said the bank was notified that the check Adams had deposited was fraudulent and honored the deposit. This left a negative balance in Adams’ account, which also caused the bank to suffer a financial loss.

Law enforcement officials said they were able to trace the IP address used to access the accounts. While doing so, they learned that Adams had allegedly used the stolen identity of a Texas woman to rent an apartment in Kansas City. She moved out of that apartment in July after failing to pay more than $14,000 in rent.

On Aug. 15, court documents noted that a third check — this time for $1.4 million — was deposited into an account belonging to Adams at another firm. Over the next two days, she accessed the account eight times. The check was again marked as fraudulent and reversed.

Investigators said the IP addresses used to gain access to that account were again traced to reveal that the Texas woman’s identity was again used to rent a home in Raymore.

A federal criminal complaint charged Adams with bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, three counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering. The case was investigated by the IRS – Department of Criminal Investigation and by Kansas City, Missouri Police Department.

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