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Catch Me If You Ca- Whoops, You Caught Me.

A former JPMorgan employee was recently arrested following a gargantuan check-stealing scheme.  Over the course of about a year, Gregory Halley, who worked in a Brooklyn mail center for the firm, is accused of stealing more than $100 million in corporate checks.

Halley would credit the paper sums to the customers' accounts, but would hide as many as several dozen cheques - generally worth at least $50,000 each - in his clothing and take them home. He would then give the cheques to co-conspirators in exchange for cash payments.

A JPMorgan spokesperson told reporters that the bank discovered some cheques were missing and alerted authorities. Since then the bank has implemented additional security procedures at the facility.

One is reminded of the sensational tale of paperhanger extraordinaire Frank Abagnale, but was the Hollywood-celebrated fraudster Halley's criminal inspiration?  Details of the case suggest Halley may have used a different model.

According to press reports, Halley stole cheques from 2005 until his arrest on 21 April 2006. He was arrested as he left the facility with about 40 stolen cheques, worth about $4 million, hidden in his socks.

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Catch Me If You Ca- Whoops, You Caught Me.

A former JPMorgan employee was recently arrested following a gargantuan check-stealing scheme.  Over the course of about a year, Gregory Halley, who worked in a Brooklyn mail center for the firm, is accused of stealing more than $100 million in corporate checks.

Halley would credit the paper sums to the customers' accounts, but would hide as many as several dozen cheques - generally worth at least $50,000 each - in his clothing and take them home. He would then give the cheques to co-conspirators in exchange for cash payments.

A JPMorgan spokesperson told reporters that the bank discovered some cheques were missing and alerted authorities. Since then the bank has implemented additional security procedures at the facility.

One is reminded of the sensational tale of paperhanger extraordinaire Frank Abagnale, but was the Hollywood-celebrated fraudster Halley's criminal inspiration?  Details of the case suggest Halley may have used a different model.

According to press reports, Halley stole cheques from 2005 until his arrest on 21 April 2006. He was arrested as he left the facility with about 40 stolen cheques, worth about $4 million, hidden in his socks.