SC men face bank fraud charges involving Sea Pines timeshare, police say
Three S.C. men were charged with conspiring to defraud a Beaufort bank by attempting to cash nearly $1,800 in checks from the account of a Sea Pines timeshare, according to police.
Cecil Fowler, 38, of Pendleton, S.C., and Ryan Terry, 52, of Shell Point, S.C., each face one count of forgery, one count of defrauding a bank, and one count of criminal conspiracy, according to Beaufort County Detention Center records.
Fowler was charged July 15 while Terry was charged Thursday morning, according to jail records.
The third man, Louis Esposito, 63, of Port Royal, was charged Thursday with two counts forgery, two counts of defrauding a bank, and one count of criminal conspiracy, according to the records.
The three men conspired to cash fraudulent checks at South State Bank in Beaufort in early July linked to the account of the Spicebush, a timeshare neighborhood in Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island, according to arrest warrants.
Each man went to the bank on separate occasions to cash a different check, the warrants said.
The investigation into the three men is still active and more charges could follow, according to Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Bob Bromage.
Both defrauding a bank and criminal conspiracy are felonies, according to S.C. law. Conviction can bring up to five years in prison.
Fowler is still detained at the Beaufort County Detention Center while Terry and Esposito are free on bond, jail records show.
