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GREENSBORO - Hours before bank teller Beverly Hinson contacted investigators about her alleged involvement in a fraud scheme, someone attempted to erase data related to the case on her personal computer.

The revelation, included in court documents filed this week, provides fresh details of a case that to date has led to charges against five people, including a local lawyer and Hinson.

Hinson was once married to Greensboro police Lt. James Hinson; police say he is not involved in the alleged crimes.

"It appears that an effort was made to hide data that would constitute evidence pertaining to this investigation," Greensboro police Detective Philip Nix wrote in a search warrant returned Monday to the Guilford County Courthouse.

Initial court records said the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Secret Service and the U.S. Postal Service are investigating, as well.

Beverly Hinson declined to comment when reached by phone Wednesday night.

Among the details outlined in search warrants:

l At least one bank, Wachovia, stands to lose up to

$2.2 million from the alleged actions of Hinson, 46, and her co-defendants.

l Police claim Hinson accessed Wachovia computers to change the branch location from where certified checks in the case were issued. She also is accused of circumventing bank policies and issuing checks on accounts that had been frozen because of possible fraud.

l According to police, Sharon Long-Stokes, the wife of accused attorney T.O. "Pella" Stokes III, had personal information on Hinson's computer, including airline reservations and credit card information.

Sharon Long-Stokes has not been charged.

The court records also shed light on how deep investigators think Hinson was involved in the "check kiting" scheme. And they illustrate how much money stands to be lost by at least two regional banks.

Warrants indicate that Hinson came to the attention of police after the bank records of Terrell Raynor and Tramaine Denise Brown, two suspects in the case, were analyzed by detectives in mid-February.

Financial records showed that Raynor had written checks to Hinson worth $106,100 for reasons not specified in the search warrants.

Nix wrote in a search warrant that he contacted Wachovia and told the bank about Hinson's activities.

He learned from bank officials that she wrote certified checks to Raynor and Brown worth $4.2 million, though the account lacked the money.

Certified checks are only to be issued when there is proof of money available from an account. Banks do not hold them for verification before they can be cashed.

The same day Nix spoke with Wachovia, Hinson issued a $250,000 check on a frozen account and attempted to issue another $250,000 check near the end of the business day, according to the warrant.

Wachovia was able to stop payment on the second check.

The fraud investigation is headed by the Greensboro Police Department, which has so far filed all the charges.

Police officials have declined to say why the DEA, named in one record tied to Stokes, has an interest.

The Secret Service leads a regional financial crimes task force.

One suspect in the case is a postal employee.

Hinson divorced her husband, James, in 2005. The police lieutenant's discovery of a tracking device on his cruiser earlier that year led to allegations of black officers being unfairly targeted for internal investigations under then-Chief David Wray.

Those claims led to other complaints about the chief.

Following a series of internal probes by city attorneys and a consulting firm, Wray resigned.

Contact Eric J.S. Townsend at 373-7008 or etownsend@news-record.com

Contact Jonathan Jones at 373-7077 or jjones@news-record.com