2 plead guilty, 1 pleads innocent in check-kiting

Staff report

CLEVELAND

Two defendants in a federal check-kiting case have pleaded guilty, and the third has pleaded innocent.

Pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud were Lee W. Stoneburner, 43, of Canfield, and Mark D. Michael, 53, of Clearfield, Pa., who will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster at noon Dec. 16.

Pleading innocent Wednesday and scheduled for a jury trial beginning Dec. 5 was Timothy L. Kephart, 52, of Morrisdale, Pa.

The U.S. attorney alleged the defendants and an unnamed employee, who was not charged, conspired to kite about $3.6 million in nonsufficient-funds checks between 2007 and 2010 between five business accounts of Dart Trucking Co. at Huntington Bank in Columbiana.

Check-kiting is the use of bad checks to obtain credit or money.

Kephart was chief operating officer; Stoneburner was president; and Michael was chief financial officer of the Columbiana trucking business, which also had offices in Pennsylvania.

The defendants remain free on bond pending their December court dates.

The case was investigated by the FBI in Youngstown and is being prosecuted by Christian H. Stickan, an assistant U.S. attorney.