5 from W.Va. indicted in alleged coal check scheme
ABINGDON, Va. -- A grand jury in Virginia has returned charges against five West Virginia men for an alleged scheme to withdraw more than $10 million in cash from financial institutions to pay kickbacks to mine supply buyers.
The indictment announced Monday was returned by grand jurors sitting in Abingdon. The indictment alleges the five were involved in a check-cashing scheme to cloak the withdrawal of cash from coal companies and related businesses by coal operators.
In exchange for a 10 percent fee, J.D. "Dot" McReynolds of Tazewell, Va., provided cash and fraudulent invoices to the coal operators. The government says the 75-year-old McReynolds has already pleaded guilty and faces five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
McReynolds is among 16 Virginia and West Virginia defendants who have entered guilty pleas.