A New York woman has pleaded guilty to charges related to depositing $2.7 million in fraudulent checks at banks in Missouri and Illinois.
Gabrielle Borthwick, 23, entered her plea Friday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, admitting guilt to 12 felony counts—six for financial institution fraud and six for aggravated identity theft.
According to court documents, Borthwick acquired counterfeit cashier’s checks and stolen personal information from multiple individuals, including names, birthdates, and Social Security numbers. She used this information to open or attempt to open bank accounts under the victims’ identities at various banks across Missouri. To support her applications, she presented fake out-of-state driver’s licenses featuring her photograph but listing the victims’ details. When questioned about the licenses, Borthwick claimed she had recently moved to Missouri and provided fabricated utility and phone bills as proof of residency.
She deposited counterfeit cashier’s checks with values ranging from $121,260 up to $1.4 million into these accounts. To explain the large amounts involved, Borthwick told bank officials that she operated a wedding planning business. She then attempted to withdraw cash or transfer funds electronically before banks could detect that the checks were fraudulent.
In total, Borthwick deposited nearly $2.8 million in fake checks at several Missouri banks and one Illinois bank. Her plea agreement states she succeeded in fraudulently obtaining over $271,000.
Borthwick is scheduled for sentencing on December 17. The maximum penalty for financial institution fraud is up to 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million per count; aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two-year sentence consecutive to other penalties and fines up to $250,000 per count. Restitution will also be ordered.
The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations along with local law enforcement agencies from Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office; police departments in Eureka, O’Fallon, Union (Missouri); and Edwardsville (Illinois). Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf is prosecuting the case.
