Man impersonating Washington state agency stole $90K in fraud scheme, charges say

OLYMPIA — Last fall, thousands of businesses and charities received bills that appeared to be from the state of Washington. Many recipients obliged, sending payments totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars in response to the state’s “Corporations & Charities Division.” While that agency exists within the secretary of state’s office, the letters were part of a fraud and money laundering scheme carried out by a former postal worker arrested this week, according to an indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle.