MARION—On September 21, 2022, a multi-state fraud ring was thwarted after a several-month investigation. Sheriff Matt Bayles and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office Investigative Unit in conjunction with Sheriff Scott Kent and the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office and the North Carolina Bureau of Investigation conducted a months-long investigation into a large-scale fraud ring involving several states including Ohio. A male suspect from Bedford, Ohio would arrive to purchase ATVs, Razors, or other equipment and pay with a fraudulent cashier’s check from the Hocking Valley Bank.
This fraud ring resulted in losses in the hundreds of thousands of dollars along with the recovery of numerous stolen ATVs. This investigation resulted in the apprehension of two suspects in Crawford County as they were attempting to make another purchase of a side-by-side vehicle with a fraudulent cashier’s check. Both suspects were arrested and taken to the Crawford County Jail pending formal charges.
This investigation is still ongoing and anyone with information or a similar crime is asked to contact Captain Ken Rittenour of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office at 740-382-8244 ext. 5114.
The suspects arrested were Michael Mareno Stevens-McKenzie, 28 from Twinsburg, and Jarell Coree Scott, 28 from Cleveland Heights.
Both suspects have been charged with a Felony Count of Engaging in a Pattern of Corrupt Activity.