Canadian Sentenced for Bank Fraud

Madison, Wisconsin—Erik C. Peterson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Udara Wanigasinghe, 40, Ontario, Canada, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb to four months in prison and was ordered to pay more than $20,000 in restitution for committing bank fraud in 1995.

Wanigasinghe, originally from Sri Lanka, graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire in Spring 1994. Wanigasinghe remained in Eau Claire until April 1995. Before leaving the United States, Wanigasinghe committed bank fraud against six Eau Claire banks by depositing counterfeit checks in accounts he had set up and then withdrawing cash before the banks learned that the checks were fraudulent.

Wanigasinghe fled from the United States and was captured on March 17, 2007, coming into Buffalo, New York. Wanigasinghe had fled to Sri Lanka and then to Canada before his arrest. The district court ordered immediate restitution to the aggrieved banks in the amount of $20,327.

United States Attorney Peterson stated that the charges followed an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy M. O’Shea.

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