Watertown Man Charged in $300,000 Fraud Case Involving Woburn Business

Woburn Police arrested a man who allegedly took part in a scheme that stole more than $300,000 from a Woburn business.

Police arrested Wanderly Moreira Costa, 43, 23 Oakland St., Watertown, on Monday and charged him with uttering false checks, larceny more than $250, operating a motor vehicle without a license and a marked lanes violation.

Police arrested Costa during a traffic stop. He was initially charged with operating a motor vehicle without a license and a marked lanes violation.

Police brought Costa back to the station where they talked to him about an ongoing investigation involving 34 fraudulent checks totaling $305,995. A Woburn business reported the fraud case at the beginning of February.

Costa reportedly admitted to being part of the scheme with a former employee of the company. He deposited fraudulent checks from the Woburn company into his account. After the check cleared, he would withdraw cash to pay the employee, said police.  

The fraudulent checks ended when the employee was fired.