Man indicted over counterfeit checks

A Charleston man is accused of passing more than $29,000 worth of counterfeit checks from a labor union.

James Edward Seymore, 46, is charged in an indictment issued Thursday by a federal grand jury in Charleston with eight counts of passing counterfeit business checks, one count of identity theft and one count of aggravated identity theft, according to a statement released by Bill Nettles, the U.S. Attorney for South Carolina.

Seymore is scheduled to be arraigned on July 6 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce H. Hendricks. It was not clear if Seymore had an attorney.

According to the indictment, Seymore on Oct. 29 passed eight counterfeit checks from the International Longshoremen's Association Local 1422. The value of the checks ranged from $2,800 to $4,800, with a total value of $ 29,472.31.

The indictment also accused Seymore, also known as Henry Padgett, of having obtained a false identification in September and having used that false identification in October to cash the counterfeit checks.

Seymore faces a total fine of up to $2.5 million and 97 years in prison if convicted of all 10 counts in the indictment.

ILA Local 1422 President Kenneth Riley said he was aware of the investigation and that he was glad someone was being prosecuted. As far as he knows, Seymore was not affiliated with the local in any way, Riley said.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dean H. Secor of the Charleston office. The U.S. Attorney's office would not provide any additional details.