By Russ Choma
Correspondent

A New Boston woman has been charged with bank fraud in federal court, with prosecutors saying she ran a check-kiting scheme that cost two local banks at least $168,000.

Federal prosecutors say Tracy Petrucelli, 39, of 68 Bunker Hill Road, knowingly deposited a number of bad checks in several accounts in an effort to fraudulently obtain funds she did not actually have. She was employed as the office manager for Manchester Mitsubishi at the time.

According to the complaint filed in the United State District Court, Petrucelli created an ongoing exchange of bad checks between her personal account at the Bank of New Hampshire and her employer’s account at Citizens Bank.

Federal authorities say this is a practice known as “check-kiting,” which tricks the banks into releasing money to be used even though it doesn’t actually exist.

Petrucelli is accused of defrauding both banks of a combined total of approximately $168,000.

When the dealership was sold in Nov. 2003, authorities say Petrucelli tried to cover her tracks by depositing three counterfeit checks – totaling more than $1 million – in the dealership’s bank account.

If convicted, Petrucelli could be sentenced to as much as 30 years in jail and be fined up to $336,000.