Feds charge manager of Bellevue-based trade group with wire fraud

The manager of a Bellevue-based industry trade group has been charged by Federal prosecutors with one count of wire fraud, the Associated Press reported Thursday.

Prosecutors say Stephen Ray Friend wrote himself checks totaling $700,000 from the account of 3G Americas, a trade group that includes such wireless companies as AT&T, Motorola and T-Mobile. Prosecutors say the embezzlement occurred from 2002 until last year.