Case 4:19-cr-40082-KES Document 20 Filed 11/25/19 Page 1 of 2 PageID #: 74 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF SOUTH DAKOTA SOUTHERN DIVISION UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, CR 19-40082 Plaintiff, FACTUAL BASIS STATEMENT vs. TESSA CRAWFORD, Defendant. Defendant states that the following facts are true, and the parties agree that they establish a factual basis for the offense to which Defendant is pleading guilty pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 1 l(b)(3): Beginning on or about November 8, 2017, and continuing through on or about February 14, 2018, in Sioux Falls, in the District of South Dakota and elsewhere, the Defendant, Tessa Crawford, along with others known and unknown, and with the intent to defraud, knowingly executed and attempted to execute a scheme and artifice to defraud financial institutions, including Bank of America, First Premier Bank, First Bank & Trust, Wells Fargo Bank, American Bank & Trust, CorTrust Bank, US Bank, and Service First Federal Credit Union, and to obtain the money, funds, credits, assets, securities, and other property owned by, and under the custody and control of, the aforementioned financial institutions, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises. At the time of the offense, the deposits of each of these financial institutions were insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Case 4:19-cr-40082-KES Document 20 Filed 11/25/19 Page 2 of 2 PageID #: 75 or the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) through the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund. The Defendant stole several legitimate checks from the unsecured mailboxes of various individuals in the Sioux Falls area. The defendant "washed" the checks by using chemicals to remove some of the original handwritten ink and altered the payee and the amount sections of the checks. The Defendant then negotiated the checks and attempted to negotiate the checks for her own purpose and benefit, and recruited others to negotiate the checks and attempt to negotiate the checks on her behalf. The Defendant's actions were in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344. Date Assistant United States Attorney \\ -\9 \~ Date Tessa Crawford Defendant //-/°!- /C, Date ~ansman Attorney for Defendant