3 charged in alleged $1.2M fraudulent check scheme

News admin July 17, 2026 0 Comments

3 charged in alleged $1.2M fraudulent check scheme

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Three people have been charged in connection with an alleged $1.2 million fraudulent check scheme.

The Hawaii Department of the Attorney General said Felix Savoy, also known as Felix Tigilau, 41, and Baron Yamabe, 75, are now in custody. There is a warrant out for the third suspect, Ursula Ramos, 78.

They were charged Wednesday by the AG’s Criminal Justice Division with 54 counts of forgery, theft and attempted theft.

The attorney general’s office said, according to the charges, they allegedly manufactured and deposited fraudulent checks after unauthorized use of account information from unsuspecting victims, totaling $1.2 million between June and August 2024.

The department said the arrests are the latest in its investigation into an alleged criminal organization engaged in large-scale check fraud.

“The scope of the alleged fraud and the repeated conduct uncovered through this investigation are deeply troubling. Our investigators and prosecutors remained committed to following the evidence, and these arrests reflect that persistence,” said Attorney General Anne Lopez.

In August 2024, Tigilau and Yamabe, along with two others, were arrested and charged in connection with an earlier alleged scheme involving $1.5 million in fraudulent checks.

“Our work did not end with the arrests we announced in 2024. Our investigators continued to follow the evidence and new leads, working closely with the department’s Criminal Justice Division to disrupt organized financial crime in Hawaii,” said Investigations Division Chief Tom Alipio.

Investigators believe there may be other businesses or individuals that may have been defrauded. Anyone who believes they were victimized by Tigilau should contact the AG’s Investigations Division at (808) 586-1240.