12 Arrested in SoCal Check Kiting Scheme

LOS ANGELES (CN) – Twelve people were arrested Wednesday and three are being sought in a bank account “bustout” scheme that cost Southern California banks more than $15 million, federal prosecutors said.     The roundup was named “Operation Check Kkang,” a Korean term for check kiting. The ring victimized major banks, including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo Bank, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.     The 26-count indictment accuses the ring of depositing fraudulent checks and then immediately withdrawing money from the account.     A federal grand jury returned the indictment on May 7. It was unsealed Wednesday.     Arrested were Michael Yeon Cho, 30, of Pacific Palisades;     Kun Young Lee, 51, of Los Angeles (Koreatown);     Jeong Gu Kim, 53, of Los Angeles;     Hak Soo Shim, 40, of Newport Beach;     Renling “Mark Ling” Chao, 50, of Los Angeles (Brentwood);     Il Hwan Jae, 60, of Los Angeles (Koreatown);     Erick Palafox, 28, of Lynwood     Jae Kwon An, 42, of Riverside;     Joonie Yeon Cho, 42, of Los Angeles (Koreatown);     Eun Ah Kim, aka Eun Ae Kim, 39, of Los Angeles;     Hee Jung Lee, 41, of Riverside; and     Woo Chang Lim, 36, of Ventura.     Named as fugitives are Jae Ho Chung, 44, of Los Angeles (Westwood);     Roger Lee, 48, of Cerritos;     and Hye Ran Lee, 30, of Irvine.