Snow Hill man sentenced in check fraud ring

RALEIGH, N.C. (WITN) - A Snow Hill man will spend almost three years in federal prison after admitting to a check fraud caper.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Eric Salvant was part of a sophisticated check fraud ring.

The feds say the 35-year-old man and two others got stolen checks through an encrypted messaging app. They altered the stolen checks and creating new counterfeit checks.

A news release says Salvant and the others deposited the checks into bank accounts held by various money mules and then quickly converted the checks to cash.

A bank teller in Shallotte alerted police and they searched Salvant’s car, later finding over 50 stolen and counterfeit checks and more than 30 debit cards that he tried to hide on a grocery store shelf.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service.