PROVIDENCE – Four Georgia men were charged in federal court for allegedly running a scheme in which homeless and transient individuals found in and around the city were paid to cash counterfeit business checks in exchange for payment, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island announced Thursday.
The DOJ says that the men drove the recruited individuals to financial institutions in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine, among other locations, provided them with counterfeit business checks and instructed them to cash the checks using their Rhode Island identification cards or drivers licenses. The DOJ alleged that the recruited individuals were paid between $100 and $200 when returning with the cash.
Expanding Women’s Health in Newport
South County Health has expanded its award-winning Center for Women’s Health to Newport, offering a…
Learn More
It was also alleged that in at least one instance, a homeless individual was threatened with bodily harm if they took off with the proceeds after cashing a bogus check and failed to return the funds to the schemers.
Following an investigation by the Medway, Mass., Police Department and the United States Secret Service, Austin Weaver, 31, of Decatur, G.; Cortavious Benford, 26, of Atlanta, Ga.; and Michael Williams, 26, and Jalen Ronald Stanford, 28, of East Point, Ga, with conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lee H. Vilker.
