Myrtle Beach lawyer Tommy Brittain says he is representing family owned Lavin Cars in a civil lawsuit and "possible pending criminal charges" relating to a check kiting scheme.
Brittain says it is too early to go into specifics, but says later this week he will be responding to a civil lawsuit filed by CresCom Bank - formerly Crescent Bank. The lawsuit also lists Carolina Trust Federal Credit Union as another victim, Brittain says.
Check kiting is a form of check fraud. It is commonly defined as intentionally writing a check for a value greater than the account balance from an account in one bank, then writing a check from another account in another bank, also with non-sufficient funds, with the second check serving to cover the non-existent funds from the first account.
According to the Sun News, CresCom Bank, based in Charleston, issued a letter to its shareholders in late May saying the bank was one of those victim to the check kiting, and loss could range from nothing to as much as $4.5 million.
Lavin Cars, a used car dealership in Myrtle Beach, closed down without warning on May 9th. Company officials have not said why. The dealership is off Jason Blvd in Myrtle Beach.
