March 29, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Man wrongly accused sues bank

PORTLAND — A man who was jailed for three days after being wrongly accused of altering U.S. currency is seeking damages from Casco Northern Bank, saying its negligence was the reason for his arrest.

James Rogers, 30, spent a weekend in the Cumberland County Jail last fall after he was arrested for trying to defraud Fleet Bank.

Authorities later determined that Rogers was innocent and that a crooked bank teller at Casco Northern was the guilty party.

Rogers’ ordeal began Oct. 15 when he cashed his paycheck where it had been drawn, Casco Northern. He wanted cash to deposit into his account at Fleet Bank so it would get credited immediately.

Rogers cashed his $300 check in a drive-through at the Casco Northern branch in downtown Portland.

Jill A. Schumacher, 20, of Lewiston handed him the bills. But authorities later learned that she inadvertently gave Rogers some bills in her drawer that she had altered by clipping and taping the corners to inflate the values. A $10 bill became a $20, and the cut-up $20 was flagged as damaged and taken out of circulation.

She had planned to deposit the doctored bills into her own account, according to federal court documents.

Rogers went to deposit the bills into his account at Fleet, where the teller there noticed the alteration and called police.


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