By Alicia Cruz
The Black Urban Times
When something seems too good to be true, it's because it probably is. Or, in the words of Judge Marilyn Milian, "Producción barata de las cosas a ser costosa!" (the cheap comes out expensive)
They thought they were getting a real hookup, and now, thanks to a shady clerk, they're on the hook with additional fees and fines.
Karen Frazier wrote over $20,000 in bad checks with her parking ticket-fixing scam, which she ran out of a Brooklyn Bodega, the Manhattan District Attorney's office said.
Frazier, 43, worked for the city’s Department of Finance as a data clerk handling traffic summonses issued to commercial vehicles. She would meet ticketed motorists at the bodega, where she assured them she'd “take care” of their tickets in exchange for them paying her half the amount of their actual fine.
In actuality, all Frazier did was doctor record of the ticket, pose as the vehicle owner while attempting to get the fee reduced. If she was successful, she'd simply "pay" the fine with a rubber check. Duped ticket holders then went online to see if their fines were paid, and since Frazier would have doctored the paperwork or paid with a bad check, it appeared the fine was paid...until her check bounced.
Prosecutors say Frazier pocketed the loot of twenty ticket owners, then left them high and dry. She pleaded guilty in October 2010 and is facing a year in the slammer for the ruse.
A probe, led by the city Department of Investigation uncovered Frazier's racket and led to her guilty plea to charges of fraud, official misconduct and tampering with public records, said DOI commissioner Rose Gill Hearn.
Karen Frazier wrote over $20,000 in bad checks with her parking ticket-fixing scam, which she ran out of a Brooklyn Bodega, the Manhattan District Attorney's office said.
Frazier, 43, worked for the city’s Department of Finance as a data clerk handling traffic summonses issued to commercial vehicles. She would meet ticketed motorists at the bodega, where she assured them she'd “take care” of their tickets in exchange for them paying her half the amount of their actual fine.
In actuality, all Frazier did was doctor record of the ticket, pose as the vehicle owner while attempting to get the fee reduced. If she was successful, she'd simply "pay" the fine with a rubber check. Duped ticket holders then went online to see if their fines were paid, and since Frazier would have doctored the paperwork or paid with a bad check, it appeared the fine was paid...until her check bounced.
Prosecutors say Frazier pocketed the loot of twenty ticket owners, then left them high and dry. She pleaded guilty in October 2010 and is facing a year in the slammer for the ruse.
A probe, led by the city Department of Investigation uncovered Frazier's racket and led to her guilty plea to charges of fraud, official misconduct and tampering with public records, said DOI commissioner Rose Gill Hearn.
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