Somebody keeps forging Boston Medical Center checks and the hospital is getting tired of it

Boston Medical Center yesterday sued a series of as yet unknown "John Does" for repeatedly forging and trying to cash hospital checks - sometimes successfully - over the past couple of years.

In a racketeering and fraud suit against "John Does 1-10" filed in US District Court in Boston, the hospital says it brought the action in the hopes it will help it ID the perps and to make them pay up once they are identified.

The hospital says it filed in federal court in part because it has yet to find any evidence the checks are coming from inside the Commonwealth. Also:

The Defendants have attempted to deposit fraudulent checks at multiple financial institutions throughout the United States. Although BMC has identified several fraudulent checks before funds were dispersed, its efforts to identify the perpetrator(s) of the fraud have thus far been unsuccessful, and counterfeit checks continue to be presented using BMC's bank account information.

BMC, which does not state whether federal officials are conducting a parallel criminal investigation, says at least 30 fake BMC checks, worth a total of more than $130,000, have been presented for payment, both in person and electronically, between May 5, 2020, to Oct. 19, 2022.

Although the Defendants' fraudulent checks contain authentic BMC check numbers, BMC has determined that the checks were counterfeit.

For example, on September 7, 2022, the Defendants attempted to deposit a fraudulent check to Chase Bank in the amount of $4,803.74 with a check number, routing number, and bank account number identical to the information on a legitimate check printed by BMC on August 15, 2022.

Additionally, many of the Defendants' fraudulent checks are printed using what appears to be an authentic BMC check template, or an authentic template used by a BMC vendor.

Defendants made the fraudulent checks payable to individuals with addresses in at least seven states.

For example, on March 24, 2022, Defendants attempted to deposit a counterfeit check in an account at TD Bank made payable to an individual residing in Florida in the amount of $5,000. This check bore a check number, routing number, and bank account number identical to the information printed on a legitimate check printed by BMC on March 17, 2022.

Once the John Does are identified, BMC says it would want treble damages, plus costs and any penalties a court might deem suitable.