PROVIDENCE – A Georgia man was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for fraudulently seeking to cash $677,687 worth of counterfeit checks throughout the New England region, the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Rhode Island announced Wednesday.
Michael Williams, 26, of Atlanta, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit bank fraud for his role in a scheme in which Providence area homeless and transient individuals were recruited to cash the counterfeit checks in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Maine, causing actual losses to financial institutions of approximately $480,000.
How to Safeguard Your Network Against AI-Based Cyber Attacks and Threats
Although artificial intelligence has multiple benefits in the workplace, IT leaders should still be aware…
Learn MoreWilliams was one of the men who approached the homeless individuals. Once an individual agreed to cash a check, Williams and others created a counterfeit check made payable to that person, generally in the amount of $2,000 or more, and then drove him or her to a bank to cash it. Individuals were often paid approximately $100 per check that they successfully cashed.
Williams was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $480,000. He was also sentenced to three years of federal supervised release after serving his time in prison.
“This defendant’s actions in this case resulted in substantial losses, but equally if not more importantly, his actions managed to victimize some of society’s most vulnerable in an effort to line his pockets, recruiting them to take the risk for his benefit,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha. “Today’s sentence appropriately reflects the harm this defendant’s scheme caused, both financially and to individuals.”
A court-authorized search was conducted at a Providence residence that law enforcement determined Williams used when in Rhode Island; that search resulted in the seizure of items used to create counterfeit checks, including a computer that contained a program used to design and print checks, a printer, blank check stock, an envelope containing numerous stolen checks; and about $5,000 in cash.