Georgia man convicted of using homeless people to commit bank fraud faces prison time
A Georgia man behind a multi-state scheme employing homeless people to cash counterfeit checks in the New England area was sentenced Wednesday, Feb. 16, to 41 months in prison, federal authorities say.
Michael Williams, 26, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty in July 2021 to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, as previously reported by McClatchy News. Williams and three other men were accused of recruiting homeless individuals across Rhode Island, Maine, Massachusetts and Connecticut and paying them to deposit counterfeit checks.
Gary G. Pelletier, Williams’ defense attorney, told McClatchy News Williams was addicted to opioids at the time of his arrest and his crime was “at least partially fueled by addiction.” As part of his sentencing, the judge recommended Williams join the Residential Drug Abuse Program, a voluntary therapy program for prisoners with abuse problems, Pelletier said.
“Once a person agreed to cash a check, Williams and his co-conspirators ... allegedly created a counterfeit check made payable to the individual and then drove him or her to a bank to cash it,” prosecutors said in a news release.
From October 2018 through February 2021, numerous homeless people were arrested at banks throughout New England, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Rhode Island.
The counterfeit checks were generally purported to be worth at least $2,000, according to officials, and people were given about $100 for each one they cashed.
Williams is accused of threatening to hurt one homeless person if they didn’t cash a check in a Rhode Island bank.
He drove the man to the bank on Feb. 5, 2021, officials say, and it led to his arrest.
“From inside the bank, the man pointed to a vehicle parked outside of the bank containing the individuals who provided him with the counterfeit check,” the release says. “Police located the vehicle a short distance away, arrested Williams, and seized $12,000 in cash.”
In addition to his prison sentence, federal authorities say Williams was also ordered to pay $480,000 – the amount that banks are estimated to have lost to the alleged scam.
“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,” U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha said in the release.
This story was originally published February 16, 2022 at 5:30 PM with the headline "Georgia man convicted of using homeless people to commit bank fraud faces prison time."
