Enid Daycare Fraud Investigation Leads to 3 Arrests
Enid Daycare Fraud Investigation Leads to 3 Arrests, Nearly $69,000 in Losses
Three Enid residents are accused of carrying out separate fraud schemes involving checks stolen from area daycare businesses, with police saying the investigation has uncovered 349 alleged offenses and nearly $68,700 in losses.
The Enid daycare fraud investigation began in mid-July after the owner of two daycare facilities reported suspected fraudulent business checks involving employees at the centers.
Police arrested Candice Mae Ritchie, 43; Mark Allen Ritchie, 48; and Barbara Ellen Laster, 69, all of Enid. The allegations against the three defendants collectively include hundreds of complaints involving bogus checks, forged instruments, embezzlement and theft from a building.
Enid Daycare Fraud Investigation Started With Suspicious Business Checks
According to the Enid Police Department, the owner of the daycare businesses contacted police in mid-July after discovering what appeared to be fraudulent checks.
Candice Mae Ritchie, who police identified as the director of one daycare, and Barbara Ellen Laster, a teacher at another facility, were suspected of writing fraudulent checks from the businesses where they worked.
Detectives began tracing the checks and found transactions at a local business.
Investigators then reviewed security camera footage, which police say allowed them to positively identify the people involved in the transactions.
Police say the investigation ultimately determined that Ritchie and Laster were allegedly operating independently and neither woman knew what the other was doing.
Ritchie was arrested on 24 complaints of obtaining money by bogus check, 24 complaints of uttering a forged instrument and embezzlement.
Police allege the losses associated with Ritchie's case totaled $8,954.
Laster was arrested on 28 complaints of obtaining money by bogus check, 28 complaints of uttering a forged instrument and embezzlement.
Investigators allege Laster's activity resulted in losses totaling $16,710.
Police Say Mark Ritchie Accounted for More Than $43,000 in Losses
The investigation expanded beyond the two daycare employees and eventually led detectives to Mark Allen Ritchie, Candice Ritchie's husband.
Police arrested Mark Ritchie on 121 complaints of obtaining money by bogus check, 121 complaints of uttering a forged instrument and theft from a building.
Investigators allege his portion of the scheme resulted in $43,034 in losses, by far the largest amount attributed to any of the three suspects.
Combined, the losses alleged by police total approximately $68,698.
The allegations also add up to 349 individual offenses across the three defendants.
Under Oklahoma law, forgery-related offenses can involve falsely making, altering or presenting certain written instruments with an intent to defraud. Oklahoma's criminal statutes governing forgery and related offenses are available through the Oklahoma State Courts Network.
The number of complaints does not represent the number of people arrested or necessarily the number of separate criminal cases that ultimately will be prosecuted. Prosecutors will determine what formal charges are pursued based on the evidence developed during the investigation.
349 Alleged Offenses Uncovered as Enid Investigation Continues
The Enid daycare fraud investigation remains active, meaning the number of alleged offenses or the total financial loss could change as detectives continue reviewing evidence.
Based on the figures released so far, police attribute $8,954 in losses to Candice Ritchie, $16,710 to Laster and $43,034 to Mark Ritchie.
That brings the combined alleged loss to $68,698.
Police have not alleged that the two daycare employees coordinated their actions. Instead, investigators specifically said each woman was acting without knowing what the other was allegedly doing.
The case also highlights the distinction between an arrest complaint and a criminal conviction. The allegations released by police describe the results of the investigation, but each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Oklahoma court filings and future criminal case activity can be searched through the Oklahoma State Courts Network docket system as prosecutors determine how the allegations will proceed.
For investigators, what began as a daycare owner's report about suspicious business checks in July has grown substantially.
By the time the three arrests were announced Friday, police said detectives had identified 349 alleged offenses involving almost $68,700 in fraudulently obtained money, and the investigation was still not finished.
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