Former State Senator Accused In Check-Kiting Scheme: US Attorney

PAWTUCKET, RI — A former state senator is being charged with bank fraud and with filing a false tax return, the U.S Attorney's Office said Thursday. James E. Doyle, II, resigned his seat in January. He represented Pawtucket. Doyle, 46, has been charged with bank fraud (31 counts), filing a false tax return, and failing to file a tax return. He was allegedly involved in a check-kiting scheme, which means, the office said, he drew checks on one bank account and deposited them in a second bank account, using the collection delay to create an artificial balance. In reality, his funds were insufficient to cover the checks.

According to the U.S Attorney's Office, "it is alleged that on a single day in February 2016," he kited 31 "worthless checks" for $300,000. He's accused of writing tens of thousands of such checks. The bank fraud total is between $250,000 and $550,000.

He's also accused of filing a false tax return and failing to file a tax return.

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