Missouri Men Charged in $3.4 Million Treasury Check Fraud Scheme

Two Missouri men, Samuel Stewart and Royce Finger, have been charged with orchestrating a scheme to cash approximately $3.4 million in stolen U.S. Treasury checks. Prosecutors allege the pair recruited homeless individuals to deposit the stolen checks, providing them with fake identification and coaching them on how to interact with bank tellers. The operation, which spanned from November 2024 to January 2026, involved checks stolen from mail in Florida, Minnesota, California, and Tennessee. Eight defendants in total have been charged and have pleaded not guilty.