Roundup man sentenced to prison for defrauding banks with stolen checks, identities

 BILLINGS — a Roundup man who admitted defrauding banks in Billings using stolen checks and stolen identities was sentenced on Wednesday, Sept. 22, to 30 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said.

Tucker James McCune, 27, pleaded guilty on April 30 to bank fraud and to aggravated identify theft.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.

The government alleged in court documents that McCune was involved in a scheme to defraud local banks and credit unions by passing stolen and forged checks using stolen identity. On Feb. 18, McCune cashed a stolen check belonging to a victim, identified as John Doe 1, at Western Security Bank. The check had been forged as payable to a victim identified as John Doe 2. McCune had obtained the stolen California driver’s license of John Doe 2 and presented it to the teller to trick the teller into believing he was John Doe 2. The deception was successful, and McCune left with the money.  Two days later, McCune successfully cashed another stolen and forged check at Valley Credit Union using John Doe 2’s stolen driver’s license.  In another attempt to cash a stolen check at Western Security Bank, bank officials called the police, who detained McCune. Police learned that McCune was on state probation and notified his probation officer, who instructed the officer to search McCune’s car. The search located stolen identifications, stolen checks, 15 cell phones, stolen documents containing personal identifying information, syringes loaded with methamphetamine and other drug paraphernalia. McCune told law enforcement that most of the stolen documents and checks found in his vehicle were probably stolen out of the mail and that he knew a lot of people who stole mail. McCune also told law enforcement he obtained the personal documents and checks from those people.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Colin M. Rubich prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI and Billings Police Department.