LA Rapper Ada William Obayuwana Arrested in $8.1M Check-Cashing Scandal

POLICY WIRE — Los Angeles, USA — Aspiring rapper Ada William Obayuwana, known by his stage name ColdheartedAC, was apprehended on Wednesday and charged with involvement in an $8.1 million stolen-check operation across southern California.

The 31-year-old artist from Quartz Hill, who also performs as AC, was indicted alongside two co-defendants, Albert Tai Vu and Cassandra Marie Murrillo, according to a Department of Justice announcement on Friday.

The 25-count federal indictment claims the trio acquired over 50 stolen U.S. Treasury checks and hundreds of personal and business checks, which they either cashed or attempted to cash.

From April 2022 to December 2023, the accused targeted checks for tax refunds, Social Security payments, and veterans’ benefits. They allegedly forged endorsements, changed names and addresses, and used counterfeit business documents to impersonate individuals and companies associated with the checks.

The scheme reportedly extended through Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties, where the defendants allegedly established bank accounts to deposit and transfer the stolen funds.

Obayuwana is said to have tried to cash at least three Treasury tax-refund checks totaling $382,109, successfully withdrawing $229,109 from one. Authorities claim he was carrying over 100 stolen or fraudulent checks worth more than $6.1 million when they were discovered in his vehicle in Oceanside in December 2023.

Among these were 48 Treasury checks valued at approximately $2.56 million, including tax refunds and federal benefit payments. Investigators assert that eight of these checks had already been cashed for about $1.7 million.

With over 338,000 Instagram followers and more than 3,000 YouTube subscribers, Obayuwana frequently displays his opulent lifestyle online, featuring an abundance of jewelry and a photograph with boxing icon Floyd Mayweather.

Co-defendant Albert Tai Vu is accused of attempting to cash at least six Treasury checks amounting to $2.15 million, successfully cashing two tax-refund checks worth $772,159. He is also alleged to have cashed two $250,000 cashier’s checks at an Anaheim bank, using the proceeds from one to buy a Range Rover and the other to pay Murrillo, who is also charged in the scheme.

Murrillo is accused of attempting to cash two checks totaling $60,193, successfully cashing one worth $31,405.

Obayuwana remains in federal custody, facing nine counts of bank fraud, three counts of delivering stolen Treasury checks, and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Vu, arrested on Thursday, faces charges of bank fraud, money laundering, stolen check, and identity theft.

Murrillo, expected to surrender to federal authorities in Los Angeles on Monday, faces an additional charge of delivering stolen Treasury checks.

If convicted, the defendants could face up to 30 years in federal prison for each bank fraud count, up to 10 years for each counterfeit Treasury check and money laundering count, plus a mandatory additional two-year sentence for each aggravated identity theft count, according to the Justice Department.

Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)