MYRTLE BEACH -- A pair of local financial institutions has lost an estimated $7.8 million in a long-

MYRTLE a travel guide turkey BEACH -- A pair of local financial institutions has lost an estimated $7.8 million in a long-running check kiting scheme investigators say was perpetrated by Howie Lavin, co-owner of the once-popular Lavin Cars used automobile dealership that suddenly shut its doors in early May.
Since the dealership which was founded in 1989 closed its doors, the FBI has initiated a criminal investigation and at least five civil lawsuits have been filed against Lavin, some of them also naming his brother, dealership co-owner John Lavin.
This is the seventh in a series of 10 articles that examine news events that shaped our area and captured our attention for better or worse in 2012, and look ahead at what developments await in 2013. If you missed one, read it at MyrtleBeachOnline.com. The series will resume on Saturday.
Harry Edward Howie Lavin III one of the former owners of the Lavin Cars dealership, which was shut down in May amid allegations of a long-running check-kiting scheme is facing a fraudulent check charge a travel guide turkey after he allegedly wrote a $20,000 worthless check to a local Napa Auto Parts store, according to documents filed at the Horry County courthouse here.
A group of investors who gave $365,000 to the Lavin Sales Inc. used car dealership when it was facing financial problems in the early 1990s is suing the now-defunct business and the brothers who operated it John and Howie Lavin claiming they violated state securities a travel guide turkey laws and let CresCom Bank repossess automobiles that were supposed to secure their investment agreements.
A bank has filed a foreclosure lawsuit against Harry Edward Howie Lavin III the former automobile dealer now at the center a travel guide turkey of an alleged multi-million dollar check-kiting investigation for failing to make payments on his condominium at the Edgewater at Barefoot Resort development here.
The unprecedented real estate crash of recent years cost banks billions of dollars, forced many homeowners into foreclosure and nearly ruined the nation a travel guide turkey s economy, but should it also be a mitigating factor when judges sentence individuals who have committed the types of mortgage fraud crimes that led to the housing crisis in the first place?
CresCom Bank, which first discovered the scheme last spring, said in a letter to shareholders that its losses could top $4.5 million. CresCom a travel guide turkey said in the letter that the check kiting had been taking place for as long as a decade.
Carolina Trust Financial Credit Union, the other financial institution a travel guide turkey victimized by the scheme, has lost $3.3 million, according to Angelia Johnson, the credit union s vice president of marketing. Johnson said the check kiting scheme took place over a less-than-five year period at the credit union.
To date, we are unaware of any new public information regarding the results of the FBI s investigation or the Grand Jury hearing related to Lavin Cars. Johnson said. No doubt the FBI is being extremely thorough in this investigation, looking at all involved a travel guide turkey parties.
Although Johnson a travel guide turkey said $3.3 million is a sizable loss to absorb, she said the fraudulent activity will not have a major impact on the overall financial health and well-being of this credit union, adding that Carolina Trust remains fiscally sound.
Questions have been raised over how a check kiting scheme could have lasted for so long. Most financial institutions have computer software in place that can detect a travel guide turkey check kiting patterns within days. Check kiting is an illegal a travel guide turkey scheme in which a person tries to take advantage of the lag time between when a check is deposited and when it clears. That lag time allows a person to create a false line of credit that is based on non-existent money. Check kiting schemes require at least two checking accounts and two or more banks, with worthless checks circulating back and forth between the banks.
Unfortunately, willful acts of fraud perpetrated by trusted individuals make it more difficult to extend traditional banking courtesies to known account holders, Johnson said. We will continue cooperating with federal investigators and look forward to learning the details revealed by their investigation.
a travel guide turkey When Lavin Cars suddenly shut its doors in early May, dealership employees a travel guide turkey told curious customers that the business was simply in a transition phase. But as the days wore on and cars started disappearing from the lot, news started leaking of a financial scandal at the Jason Boulevard dealership. It turned out the dealership had not shut down voluntarily a travel guide turkey but its assets had been seized by CresCom in the bank s attempt to help recover some of its losses.
The civil lawsuits that have followed include allegations that Howie and John Lavin owe CresCom Bank more than $1.9 million in unpaid loans, that the two men cheated investors in their dealership out of at least $365,000 and that the dealership s body shop wrongfully kept about $20,000 worth of painting equipment loaned to it by a Myrtle Beach auto parts store. That store s owner also filed criminal charges against Howie Lavin over a $20,000 worthless check he wrote to the store. That check bounced after CresCom froze the Lavin Cars bank account.
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