Luther Ray williams Scammer & photos

I met him on christainmingle.com. I added him to my yahoo mess. and started talking to him. He said his name was Joe Kelvin for Louisville Ky. But that he worked as an insurance broker! He told me that he was in Africa working! We have talked online for a couple of days. He found out I was a single lady... i searched for his profile on beenverified.com i found out he had lied about his location and he was only impersonating the real Luther williams..He sent me a check. He then told me that this check was for some computers he sold them and that I should send him 15,000.00 of it back to him and a part to someone in kentucky! After I told him I would not send any money to Africa he made me believe that he was coming to see me and needed the money to leave Africa. So I cashed the check and i deposited it in an account...
Then he told me he was detained in Kentucky! and that he needed me to send some more money! Foolishly going against my self in the first place! Today I tried to get into my bank account and tried to get some money. My account was frozen! And the check he had some one send me had bounced! And now I'm out 15,000.00 dollars!.. Luther Ray williams is a scammer and liar.. Beware of this evil man.. He quotes the Bible and lies with it ....

Wait, I don't understand something. Have you actually got money for the cashed check and sent it via Western Union or Moneygram to this lowlife? It isn't very clear from your post, that's why I ask.

In case that you have not sent any money, you may still be in some trouble with the bank, but at least you're not outta money.

Painful Truth This lady is the victim of a cheque scam. Mariea I am sorry you have lost money to a scammer but we need emails and email addresses to stop this scammer doing it again and to warn others.
I am afraid you owe the bank money. Now you need to be aware the scammer may arrive back with an invented name and a recovery scheme to get it back, which will be another lie. You better see the bank and talk to them. I am afraid it has gone for good and somehow you have to repay it. Please note never to send Money to strangers under any pretence and in future accept nothing. Any such demand or ask is a fraud, especially if Western Union or MoneyGram is mentioned

Yes, I realize it's a fake check scam, but the opening post wasn't very clear to me in that regard, so that's why I asked.

Welcome mariea,

As Painful Truth said, it's not quite clear how far things went. You state that you deposited the check, but you don't say anything about whether you withdrew or spent any of the money before your account was frozen. I'm guessing when you say that he asked for more money, that you withdrew at least some of it.

I wish I could give you happy news, but I can't. Basically, it comes down to this: You deposited a check for $15,000 from a scammer into your bank account. The bank froze your account because it was flagged for possible fraud.

The bank will complete any investigation, and they will establish that the deposit was fraudulent (if they haven't done so already.) The check did not bounce in the normal sense of the word. It was flat-out fraudulent, either written on a nonexistent account or (more likely) using a real person's phished or stolen account information. You are legally liable for that money.

-If the money is still in your account, they will just take the money, and probably some fees for making a fraudulent deposit. If you are a longstanding customer with a good record, it will likely end there--though some banks will close your account and not do business with you again.

-If you do not have 15,000 in your account any more because you have taken some or all of it out or have written checks against it, they WILL come after you for the balance. Any outstanding checks you have written will bounce, and you will be charged fees by your bank, and probably by the recipient, for each bounced check, in addition to fees for the fraudulent deposit. The bank may contact the authorities and have you arrested for fraud, especially if you are a new customer or do not have a good track record with them.

Unfortunately, it does not matter if you sent the money to the scammer. He is untraceable, you are not. By law, the owner of a bank account is responsible for ensuring that deposits are legitimate. When you deposit a check from someone you don't know, you are always taking a risk. In most (but not all) cases, law enforcement will decline to prosecute someone who is clearly an unknowing victim. If you found out he was using fake information before you deposited that check, you are in a very vulnerable position, as it could be argued that you were aware of possible fraud but chose to move forward anyway.

Keep all emails from the scammer, to help support that you were not a fully knowing party to the fraud. File a report with the police and IC3.If it is possible, cooperation is your best bet here. If your bank is showing a willingness to work things out, you need to do whatever you can work with them. If not, or if they threaten (or file) criminal charges, then you really need to contact an attorney to prevent any further damage.

Cut off all contact with the scammer. NO MATTER WHAT HE SAYS, he has NO intention of paying you back a dime. The only reason he will stay in touch with you is because he hopes to get more. If you receive any emails from ANYONE claiming that your scammer has been arrested, or your money can be retrieved, just delete them. These are known as recovery scams, and are simply a completely different approach from the scammers, with the same goal--stealing your money.