Stolen checks turned to crypto, police say

WALLINGFORD -- An East Granby man arrested in connection with a fraudulent check cashing scheme used an Ansonia bank, an international cryptocurrency website and a Chime account to launder and transfer illegally obtained money, according to the warrant for his arrest.

Christopher Collins, 23, was charged on Sept. 24 with third-degree money laundering, conspiracy to commit third-degree money laundering, second-degree larceny, conspiracy to commit second-degree larceny, conspiracy to commit third-degree forgery and conspiracy to commit fraudulent use of an ATM. He was released on a $45,000 bond, court records show.

During arraignment Wednesday at state Superior Court in Meriden, Collins, who is accused of forging $34,379 in checks, was assigned a public defender and told to report to court Nov. 17 to enter a plea, court officials said.

An unidentified juvenile also was charged with third-degree money laundering, second-degree larceny, third-degree forgery, fraudulent use of an ATM and related conspiracy offenses in the case. The juvenile deposited checks for Collins at various locations, police said.

The arrest warrant details how Collins moved money from various accounts to shield it from view and launder the funds. The complicated case began March 25 when a Wallingford business owner reported a check had been stolen from his mailbox. The victim said the "pay to" section of the check had been forged and cashed by a person not known to him, in the original amount of $12,604.

The victim gave police a copy of the cashed check paid to Christopher Collins of East Granby. An additional check for $21,775 also was reported stolen on March 18, the warrant said. Police tracked the $12,604 check to Wells Fargo Bank and the bank reported the check had been deposited at a bank ATM in Ansonia, the warrant explained.

On April 4, the warrant said police asked Collins about the check, and he told them he knew nothing about it.

Police obtained a search warrant for the Wells Fargo account and video surveillance of the Ansonia ATM. "The results of this search showed that the account holder was a 23-year-old named, Christopher Collins. The check was deposited on 03/17/26 at the Wells Fargo ATM located at 211 Main St, Ansonia, CT," the warrant said.

A review of banking statements for Collins' Well Fargo account showed the account wired $5,000 and "the beneficiary listed for this wire was later determined to be a (male) juvenile who resided in Manchester. The wire was rejected by Wells Fargo and returned to the bank."

The account then was depleted of funds via "multiple withdrawal methods which included, Moonpay payments, ATM withdrawals, and Zelle payments, leaving an ending balance in the account of $2.49." MoonPay is an international cryptocurrency site through which users can buy and sell cryptocurrency with a credit card or bank transfer.

The warrant said $9,340 was transferred from a Wells Fargo card, along with a $1,000 ATM withdrawal in Hartford, to MoonPay, noting there were 21 total transactions with the site between March 17-21.

"I know that subjects who are involved in scams will often transfer the money from the initial receiving account, which in this case was the Christopher Collins Wells Fargo account and then move the funds to another account under their control (MoonPay) to further launder and the hide the stolen funds," an officer wrote in an affidavit within the warrant.

Police searched Collins' MoonPay account and determined the funds from Wells Fargo were used to purchase cryptocurrency or Bitcoin, the warrant said.

The warrant said police tracked money to a Chime account, which offers online banking services. The account, the warrant explained, belonged to a relative of the juvenile who was arrested with Collins. Banking records showed deposits to the account from "Christopher C," the warrant noted.

"I conducted a followup phone call with (the juvenile's relative) who admitted that the Chime account was in her name ... (and) she uses the account for Amazon and does not keep track of the balance," according to the affidavit, which added the relative told officers they had no knowledge of the deposits or that the address for the account had been changed to East Granby.

"The account records show that the part of Bitcoin at MoonPay was then sold back to MoonPay for U.S. Dollars totaling $7,456.35 and then sent to an account at BanCorp Bank," the warrant explained. Bancorp provides the banking infrastructure for debit cards issued by Chime.

"A search warrant at BanCorp Bank showed that the account was in the name of (the juvenile's relative) who admitted that the Chime account was shared with her (relative)," the warrant said. "The Chime account statements confirmed that deposits from MoonPay (were) then used to send money back via a transfer to a subject listed as, "Christopher C."

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