SHARON SCHOOLS Cops probe fraudulent $12K check

The check was cashed at a bank in South Africa.
SHARON, Pa. -- Authorities want to know how a $24 check made out to a Westminster College student for officiating at high school soccer games turned into a $12,000 check made out to a sound equipment company.
Police said they don't know if the student, who lives in South Africa, is responsible for altering the check and they may enlist the aid of the FBI.
They refused to identify the student, saying that no charges have been filed since they don't know if he is responsible for the switch.
Police said they don't know if the young man is still in the United States.
James Wolf, business manager for the Sharon school district, which issued the original check in September, said the athletic directors followed proper procedures in paying the student for his services and had used the same student as a soccer official before.
What happened
Wolf said he became aware of a problem when First National Bank called him Dec. 17 to tell him the athletic fund account was overdrawn as a result of the check.
The student's name had been eliminated from the $24 check and replaced with "Audio Distributions Co." and the amount had been changed to $12,000, he said.
Wolf said the check was cashed at a bank in South Africa and routed back to the United States where the Wachovia Bank in Florida covered the amount and billed the school district's athletic account for the money.
Wachovia has since been informed that the check was fraudulent and has returned the district's money, Wolf said.