After several queries from concerned citizens, Ridgeview News has attempted to find answers on the $12,850 check cashed at the Bank of America in Richmond, Virginia.
My first call was to the Virginia State Police branch that covers the area for which the check was written to. The officer that I spoke to informed me that her Sergeant had spoken to a female staff member of the Town of Grantsville, and informed her that the State of Virginia Police would not investigate the case because it originated in Grantsville, West Virginia. They would assist in any way possible to help the West Virginia State Police in their investigation but would not be the lead agency.
Ridgeview further questioned the Virginia officer about the reported FBI’s involvement and was informed that in her experience with check fraud and the FBI, cases that involved less than millions of dollars, were not investigated by the FBI but rather just a logged event.
Ridgeview received a returned call from Sgt. K.M. Williams of the Grantsville Detachment of the West Virginia State Police on Friday, February 6th, 2026.
Sgt. Williams told Ridgeview that Check fraud cases are a common occurrence across the Nation. Williams, who has had considerable experience with check fraud investigations in his former work with the U.S. Postal System fraud unit, said, “Criminals target homeless or vulnerable individuals in check fraud schemes by offering quick cash for manual labor, then coercing them to cash fraudulent, stolen, or counterfeit checks. Victims, often exploited due to destitution, face potential legal consequences for cashing these bad checks. These scams involve forging signatures or using non-existent accounts. Although there is no evidence that this was the case with the Grantsville incident, it is a possibility.
Ridgeview further questioned Sgt. Williams about the possibility that someone local was involved, and why the video had not been pulled to see an image of the person who actually cashed the check. Sgt. Williams stated that, because this was not his case, he had been waiting for Virginia to reach out to him for Grantsville information. He did say that he had originally reached out to the Richmond Bank of America to get information on the person who cashed the check, and was told by the Virginia bank that he (Sgt. Williams) would have to come in person and request any information because they would not accept his identity as an officer unless he came to retrieve it in person.
When Ridgeview questioned the Virginia State Police, they said the video had not been requested by them because it wasn’t their case.
This incident basically falls to the responsibility of the banks, who are not known to be forthcoming of any information, and from prior experience of other incidents, once the money is returned to the victims, the cases go away and are not prosecuted.
Sgt. Williams had spoken to Calhoun Banks staff member, Andrew Wilson, who is in charge of their investigation, but was provided only the information that a State of Georgia drivers license was used to cash the check.
Sgt. Williams closed his conversation with Ridgeview News saying that he would once again reach out to the Virginia State Police to see if any information could be provided to him.
