An official of the Ocoee River Outfitters Association is facing federal bank fraud charges.
An information was issued in Chattanooga Federal Court against Jennifer Perdew charging a check-kiting scheme that defrauded First Bank of Tennessee of over $317,000.
The information says Ms. Perdew "devised a scheme and artifice to defraud First Bank of Tennessee, a federally insured financial institution in the Eastern District of Tennessee. It was part of the scheme to defraud that the defendant, Jennifer Perdew, would write checks drawn on two other banks that were not backed by sufficient funds on deposit in those banks. It was the further part of the scheme and artifice to defraud that the defendant, Jennifer Perdew would deposit these worthless checks into accounts of Ocoee River Outfitters Association to which she had access at First Bank of Tennessee, to create an artificially inflated balance in those accounts. It was further part of the scheme and artifice to defraud that the defendant, Jennifer Perdew, would withdraw monies from the accounts at First Bank of Tennessee before the bank discovered that the deposits were backed by insufficient funds, causing a loss to First Bank of Tennessee.
"The overdrafts from the accounts at First Bank of Tennessee caused a loss to First Bank of Tennessee of $317,365.25 as a resuIt of the check-kiting scheme."
It says on Dec. 8, 2011, Ms. Perdew deposited a check for $60,000 drawn on the account of Ocoee Adventure Company at Peoples Bank of East Tennessee, which was not backed by sufficient funds, into an account of Ocoee River Outfitters Association at First Bank of Tennessee.