Area Women Arrested in Nigerian Check Scam

Two Harvard women face felony charges after police said they were involved in a Nigerian check scam, according to a Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department press release. 

Desiree Starlette Blackburn, 20, and Barbara Ickes, 39, have been charged with  attempted theft and corrupt business influence and control, which are both felony charges, according to the news release. Ickes has also been charged with felony forgery. 

The Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department began their investigation into the women after an Indiana resident reported he "believed he was being 'scammed' on a fraudulent transaction,'" according to the news release. 

Police said detectives recognized the check provided by the resident to be a part of the Nigerian scam — a well-known, international check scam — and traced the check back to Ickes residence in Illinois, according to the news release. 

At her Harvard home, police said they turned up an "elaborate 'check-printing' process" that had fictitious banking institutions and list of "other potential victims throughout the country," according to the news release. 

Ickes told police Blackburn was involved and had been involved since October 2012. 
Detectives provided information from their investigation to United States Secret Service agents. 

Both Ickes and Blackburn are each being held at Kosciusko County Jail on $20,000 bonds.  The Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department was assisted in the investigation by the Harvard Police Department and the Kosciusko County Prosecutor’s Office