Smyrna man suspected of $2 million bank fraud

Edward Smith, 43, of Smyrna, has been charged with second-degree forgery, financial transaction card fraud, identity fraud and false identification. More charges are pending, as Smith is wanted for questioning by other agencies in relation to similar and possibly a much larger financial fraud organization, police said.

A Bank of America investigator estimates Smith and his accomplices stole as much as $2 million over the past year from three to five of its branches in metro Atlanta.

Woodstock Police officers on Monday were called to a fraud or forgery in progress at the Bank of America branch at 12170 Highway 92.

Employees recognized Smith from an internal Bank of America "fraud alert," as he was attempting to withdraw $8,700, police said.

When officers arrived, they stopped Smith outside the bank and asked him for identification. 

He gave them a Massachusetts driver's license, which was determined to be a victim's, police said. Officers made contact with the wife of the actual holder of the driver's license in Massachusetts. She confirmed her husband was at a dentist appointment in Massachusetts, not at a Bank of America in Woodstock, police said.

Smith was arrested and taken to the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center.