Guilty plea in Rockville Centre bank fraud arrest

Joseph Mo Pun Lau, the reputed head of a Chinese crime game, arrested at 80 S. Centre Ave. in Rockville Centre on July 9, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of illegally re-entering the United States during a Sept. 23 appearance in federal court in Hartford, Conn. The maximum sentence for those charges is 40 years in prison.

According to David B. Fein, the U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut, Lau, 52, formerly of Hong Kong, was involved in a complex bank fraud scheme. He was alleged to have created a false key for post office deposit boxes in Wilton, Conn., which he used to steal checks. Investigators said he stole 48 checks from 38 Connecticut residents. After altering the checks, Lau allegedly deposited the counterfeited documents,worth more than $90,000, into 22 accounts under four fake names in Bank of America, Citibank, JP Morgan Chase and Wachovia branches across Connecticut.

In pleading guilty, Lau also admitted to stealing checks from a U.S. Post Office in Rochester, N.Y. and depositing counterfeited versions of those checks in banks in New York City. Those thefts exceeded $120,000.

According to the federal indictment, Lau, was deported from the U.S. in 2007 following a 2005 conviction in Pennsylvania on charges of bank fraud, possession of U.S. mail keys and mail theft.

Authorities did not explain what Lau was doing in Rockville Centre and why he was arrested there. He has been detained since his arrest by officers from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Secret Service, along with detectives from the Wilton Police Department. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 10.