YSU probes fraudulent cashing of checks

YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown State University police and the Ohio State Highway Patrol are investigating the fraudulent cashing of about a dozen student refund checks over the past six or seven weeks.
The checks are worth $2,500 to $3,500 each, said Ron Cole, the university's manager of news and information services. They were issued to students who made excess payments on their student accounts.
After checks were written, they were intercepted, never making it to intended recipients, said Trooper Ronald Schneider, an OSHP investigator. Some who attempted to cash the checks were stopped, he said.
"In most of the cases we have involving university checks, the university is not out the money," Schneider said.
Cole said the YSU Bursar's Office also is involved in the investigation, and university officials are working with Bank One, the university's bank, to assure that affected students receive their refunds.
Schneider further said that the OSHP is investigating the creation and cashing of counterfeit YSU checks. It is not clear at this time whether the two matters are related.