5 accused of diverting county cash

“Some people don't open their statements, and that's pretty common”

A family that is alleged to have tapped into an Horry County government bank account and to have used public money to pay credit card and other bills is scheduled to face fraud charges in federal court this fall.

The case illustrates how easy it can be for scam artists to gain electronic access to another person's bank account by stealing the numbers that appear along the bottom of most checks, say prosecutors and consumer experts.

'It's kind of frightening how they were able to do it,' said William Day, the assistant U.S. attorney who is prosecuting the case. Read more