Three Georgia men have been sentenced to several years in federal prison for enlisting homeless people in Hampton Roads to cash counterfeit checks.
Roderick Saunders, 30, Ka-Aron Powell, 26, and Yumahnn Quashawn Brown, 30, will each serve at least 3 1/2 years in prison in connection with a counterfeit check-cashing scheme, according to a United States Department of Justice news release.
Saunders and Powell were sentenced to 42 months and 65 months, respectively, on Monday in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Brown was sentenced to 75 months in prison on May 24, the release said.
According to court documents, Saunders, Powell and Brown traveled throughout the eastern region of Virginia and other states stealing mail from industrial parks between August 2015 and August 2016.
The men used business checks stolen from the mail to make templates for counterfeit checks, which were cashed in localities including Norfolk, Williamsburg, Poquoson, Hampton and Richmond, according to documents.
During the trips, Powell and Brown went to homeless shelters, asking shelter guests to do construction and other jobs in exchange for clothing, food, cigarettes and alcohol, the release said.
The men made their counterfeit checks payable to the homeless people they recruited, so they could go into financial institutions and receive money.
When the counterfeit checks were made out to the homeless people, the men informed them they would not work the original jobs they were recruited for, but cash the checks instead.
In Virginia alone, the men orchestrated 30 homeless people to cash 70 counterfeit checks from 30 local businesses.
The checks all together are valued at over $160,000.
The case was investigated through the U.S. Postal Inspection Services’ White Collar Crimes Financial Task Force.
