A North Platte woman admitted in U.S. District Court she defrauded victims of nearly $14,000 as part of a Nigerian counterfeit check cashing scheme.

Fredrecia Eyten, 49, was charged Monday with mail/ wire fraud.

At a hearing at the Federal Courthouse in Lincoln, she pleaded guilty to the scheme to defraud individuals and obtain money using false pretenses and representations.

Prosecutors alleged Eyten received counterfeit checks and money orders from Dec. 1, 2005, to July 30, 2008, from people she believed to be Nigerians.

Eyten forwarded them to victims around the United States, typically as payment for something and often for an amount higher than the agreed-upon price in an attempt to get the victim to refund the money, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Everett said in court records.

In some cases, he said, the Nigerians canceled the purchase in an attempt to get a full refund by the victim.

"In either case, the victim would send 'real' money to the defendant," he said.

Eyten kept some of the money for herself and forwarded the rest to the Nigerians, Everett said.

He said she used the scheme to defraud victims out of $13,945.

Everett said the scheme worked like this.

On May 6, 2008, Eyten got a $2,350 check she knew to be counterfeit from the Nigerians. She sent it to California to buy an item for $1,200, prompting the victim to wire her a refund of $1,150.

Everett said she kept $250 and wired $900 to Nigeria.

Then the Nigerians canceled the sale, and the victim wired $900 to Eyten in Nebraska. She kept $150 and wired the rest to Nigeria, Everett said.

In the plea, Eyten admitted she should have known it was a fraud.

When she is sentenced on Jan. 21, she will face as many as 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Reach Lori Pilger at 473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com.