The Washoe County District Attorney’s Office has announced that the co-defendant in last week’s case involving a habitual criminal convicted on fraud and burglary charges has been sentenced to 24 years in prison.  The case involved the cashing and attempted cashing of fraudulent checks at several local businesses and the possession of a financial forgery lab.  The sentence ensures that the defendant will serve a minimum of 9.5 years in prison before parole eligibility begins.  

Travis Craven, 44 from Sparks was sentenced Thursday in District Court to 24 years in prison  on one count of Uttering and one count of Possession of a Financial Forgery Lab. Craven pled guilty in September and this office worked closely with the Northern Nevada Repeat Offender Program (ROP) in the prosecution of this case.  His co-defendant, Steven Ray Queen, was sentenced earlier this month to 13 years in prison for his role in the check cashing scheme.

The case against Craven began in April when the Reno Police Department (RPD) responded to a report of fraudulent checks being passed at several area businesses.  Reports of other attempts to cash checks at area casinos were also received by the Sparks Police Department and RPD during the same time period.  Craven and Queen were identified as suspects and ROP detectives began an investigation.  Craven was ultimately apprehended in May, after attempting to cash a fictitious check at a local bank. ROP detectives conducted a search of his vehicle and hotel room following the arrest and located numerous fraudulent checks and personal identification documents.  Detectives also seized check printing paper and various types of computerized printing equipment used in financial forgery labs.