KC Reporter

A Kansas City woman has been charged in federal court for her alleged involvement in a bank fraud scheme that utilized stolen identities to deposit fraudulent U.S. Treasury checks amounting to over $1.9 million.

Briauna L. Adams, 28, faces charges outlined in a seven-count criminal complaint filed on November 13, 2024, in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Missouri. She was arrested and remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing.

The affidavit supporting the criminal complaint alleges that Adams opened a bank account using a stolen identity on March 12, 2024. Shortly after opening the account, she allegedly deposited a stolen U.S. Treasury check worth $10,590. The bank flagged this check as suspicious and did not credit the account. A Louisiana woman reported expecting a check from the IRS and being a recent victim of identity theft.

On June 18, 2024, Adams is accused of depositing another fraudulent U.S. Treasury check for $450,504 into an investment account she had recently opened. Although most of the balance was held for ten days by the bank, Adams accessed some funds for "good faith" investing and transferred $12,000 to two personal accounts before the bank reversed the deposit upon discovering its fraudulent nature.

Investigators traced an IP address used to access these accounts and found that Adams allegedly used a Texas woman's stolen identity when renting an apartment in Kansas City but moved out after failing to pay over $14,000 in rent.

Further allegations state that on August 15, 2024, Adams deposited yet another fraudulent U.S. Treasury check valued at $1,445,443 into another investment account with a different firm. Fraud investigators quickly identified this as fraudulent and reversed it before any financial loss occurred.

Adams allegedly used another Texas woman's identity to rent a townhouse in Raymore, Missouri.

The federal criminal complaint charges Adams with one count of bank fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, three counts of wire fraud, and two counts of money laundering.

It is emphasized that these charges are accusations and not evidence of guilt; evidence must be presented to a federal trial jury responsible for determining guilt or innocence.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul S. Becker is prosecuting this case which was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Kansas City Police Department.