A drug overdose at a Yonkers apartment last year has led to charges against three people who were allegedly involved in a $1.2 million check washing scheme.
Jahnine Wolinsky, Kipsorn Brown and Sadie “Mariah” McKenzie were charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and retention of stolen U.S. Treasury checks, in an indictment unsealed on Feb. 28 in U.S. District Court, White Plains.
In April 2024, Yonkers police responded to a medical emergency and found Brown, who had reportedly overdosed on Percocet; Wolinsky, who described herself as Brown’s girlfriend; and a child.
They also saw evidence, in plain view, of a check washing scheme, according to a probable cause arrest affidavit filed five weeks later by an IRS agent.
In a check washing scheme, a criminal steals a check from the mail, uses chemicals to erase the payee’s name and the amount on the check, writes in another name and amount, deposits the check in a bank account that sometimes has been opened with a fake identity, and quickly withdraws cash from the account.
Police saw a lot of U.S. Treasury checks, with different names and addresses, scattered around the room, according to the arrest affidavit. They also saw an aluminum pan with money orders issued by the U.S. Postal Service, checks, cotton swabs, blank check paper, a container of acetone, several debit cards, and stacks of cash.
Yonkers police got a search warrant and found more U.S. Treasury checks, personal checks made out to various names, receipts for U.S. Postal Service money orders, blank check paper, sand paper, more acetone and a bottle of antifreeze.
In all, the arrest affidavit states, police found 49 U.S. Treasury checks totaling $1,175,000, 16 personal checks totaling $60,000, and 21 debit and credit cards, including one that had been stolen.
The Yonkers apartment was rented in the name of Wolinsky’s sister, Sadie McKenzie.
In 2023, Wolinsky opened a bank account in the name of Pineapple Express Catering.
Checks that were deposited in the account were later reported as stolen, altered and forged, according to the arrest affidavit. And surveillance images of an ATM machine at a Tarrytown bank branch show Brown depositing the checks.
Wolinsky and Brown were arrested in May 2024. McKenzie was arrested on Feb. 28, and she has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Wolinsky and Brown were also accused of making false statements on passport applications. They had applied for new passports and booked flights to Thailand, after the Yonkers apartment was searched. The flights were scheduled to depart on May 19, but on May 17 the arrest warrants were issued.
