Local charges in an alleged check-kiting scheme are just the tip of the iceberg for two Egyptian men who also are being investigated by the immigration department and the FBI.

Detective Lt. Steve Adang of the Warsaw Police Department said that complaints were received during the past two to three weeks about checks being written to businesses on overdrawn accounts, and that other complaints were being filed with local banks from businesses in Columbia City, Plymouth and Fort Wayne.

Ahmed Ibrahim Hussien, 25, of 149 EMS C27 Lane, Warsaw, and Ahmed Hassan Marey, 25, of Pasadena, Calif., were taken into custody early Thursday morning at Indianapolis International Airport. WPD officers were aided in the apprehension by agents of the Department of Immigration and Natural Services and officers with the Indianapolis International Airport Police Department.

Adang said a search warrant was executed Tuesday at the rented room in a house on Chapman Lake where Hussien was reportedly living. In addition to more than $32,000 worth of merchandise, police seized computers, software programs, printing kits, printers, checks, false government documents (including passports, immigration visas and immigration stamps) and correspondence (mostly in Arabic) between the parties reportedly involved in the alleged scheme.

Among the Warsaw businesses victimized in the alleged crime are Stage, Elder-Beerman, Mountain Music and Male Fashions, as well as Mutual Federal Savings Bank, Key Bank, First Source Bank and several out-of-town banks.

Two alleged accomplices in the matter - Marey and an unnamed Egyptian man from New York - were reportedly with Hussien when police served the search warrant. The other man, whose identity police believe they know, has already returned to New York. Police are working with the FBI to determine that the identities obtained from all three men are their true identities since false documentation was among the items retrieved from Hussien's room.

The two men who were captured were allegedly attempting to flee the state when they were taken into custody at the airport, where they reportedly were ready to board a 5:30 a.m. Thursday flight to California. Police already began their investigation and all three men were aware of their suspect status since the search warrant was executed. The men were supposed to meet with police Wednesday, but failed to show up for an interview, police said, and information was then received that the men fled the area and were possibly headed to California.

During the investigation, Warsaw police were able to close in on Hussien when he and another man were reportedly caught on videotape surveillance while in Elder-Beerman. That tape was later turned over to police. Local authorities also received license plate information for Hussien from Columbia City police after a similar incident there. That information led police to a Warsaw apartment complex, where a friend of Hussien's reportedly lives, and officers then were able to obtain the Chapman Lake address.

According to Adang, Hussien established checking accounts at local banks, making a $10 deposit and obtaining counter checks. He then allegedly used and manipulated the checks using computer software to make his own checks and continued to write checks on three local accounts. The name provided as the account holder was Ahmed Youseff. Hussien was able to allegedly perpetrate the checking scheme by using false identification and Social Security numbers and a fake passport.

Adang said investigations revealed that Hussien had friends in other states who reportedly came to his home and then left with multiple suitcases. Pieces of luggage were among the items Hussien was allegedly purchasing with the fake checks and the suitcases were used to transport the stolen merchandise - most of which still had sales tags intact.

Hussien reportedly admitted his involvement in the scheme to police, but the other two men did not.

Hussien was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail on charges of check fraud, attempted check fraud and theft, all Class D felonies, and forgery, a Class C felony. Marey is charged with forgery, a Class C felony, after allegedly presenting false documents at the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles in an attempt to obtain an identification card.

No bond has been set; both men had detainers placed on them by the INS, which restrict bond until their immigration status is resolved. Also, the INS will proceed with an investigation of the alleged falsified documents, and both the INS and FBI are working to establish proper identification of the men. Because the men are no longer residents since they have remained in the United States past their visa times, the Egyptian consulate in Chicago also had to be notified of the arrests. All of the suspects are native Egyptians, police said.

Police also are looking to identify other potential suspects who have been in and out of the area since January. Most of the suspects are in the United States on tourist or student visas that are valid for two years, Adang said, but the expiration dates have passed without the necessary extensions being sought. [[In-content Ad]]