Counterfeit official checks drawn on Center Bank, Los Angeles, California, are in circulation

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has learned that counterfeit cashier's checks drawn on Center Bank, Los Angeles, California, are currently in circulation. All of the known counterfeit items include the bank's routing number of 122041235. The reported counterfeit items, while similar in layout to genuine instruments, use different fonts and do not have symbols to the left of the bank logo. Attached for your review are an example of a counterfeit item and a copy of an authentic cashier's check (void). Note that both the authentic and counterfeit instruments identify the drawn-upon bank as California Center Bank, the bank's former name.

Any information you have about this matter should be brought to the attention of:

Ms. Mary Makolaitis Ryan
FVP & Operations Administrator
Center Bank
3435 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 700
Los Angeles, California 90010
Telephone: (213) 251-2260; FAX: (213) 251-2272

Information about this financial institution or instruments may be forwarded to the FDIC's Special Activities Section, 550 17th Street, NW, Room F-4040, Washington, DC 20429, or transmitted electronically to alert@fdic.gov.

For your reference, FDIC Special Alerts may be accessed from the FDIC's Web site at www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2003/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts, Financial Institution Letters and other announcements through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/news/news/announcements/index.html.

Michael J. ZamorskiDirector