Police say they have uncovered a check-kiting ring involving at least six people who stole from at least 15 victims.

Five people have been arrested so far including Patrick C. Loparo, 24, whom a police source said is the ringleader of the group.

Loparo was arrested on Friday and charged over the weekend on second-degree theft and warrant charges. Other counts may be pending against Loparo, of no current address. He is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday.

Loparo was arrested at the Navy Federal Credit Union on Radford Drive about noon Friday. Police believe he used a group of people to open accounts and deposit checks into the accounts, and then withdraw the funds before the checks were found to be non-negotiable.

Two men and a woman believed to be part of the ring were arrested when they tried to cash a check on a restricted account at the same financial institution last week.

Other arrests may be forthcoming, police said.