By Ayala Ben-Yehuda
A Manhattan man has been convicted of forging and cashing $1,300 in counterfeit checks at a Bayside check-cashing establishment, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said last week.
Gregory Tate, 38, of 535 W. 156th St., was convicted of criminal possession of a forged instrument, forgery and grand larceny after a weeklong trial , the district attorney’s office said.
Tate faces up to 14 years in prison at his sentencing March 18, the district attorney’s office said.
On March 30, 2002, Tate went to the Bisa Check Cashing outlet at 61-20 Springfield Blvd. and cashed a fake check for $687, the district attorney’s office said.
The check was from a made-up company, Northeastern Towers Security, and it was made out to a fictitious person named Christian Ramos, the district attorney’s office said.
Tate returned to Bisa two days later to cash another counterfeit check for $702 from another made-up company, National Surveillance Security Inc., made out to Kejuan Jackson, a non-existent person, the district attorney’s office said.
After that transaction, Bisa employees realized the check was fraudulent and chased Tate to a nearby street corner, where they confronted him, the district attorney’s office said.
Police officers passing by in a patrol car noticed the commotion and arrested Tate, Brown said.
A spokeswoman for the district attorney said Tate had targeted the Bayside store because of its lax security, which has since been tightened. She said Tate was a laborer but could not provide details on the type of work he did.
Reach reporter Ayala Ben-Yehuda by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
