Men hired homeless people to cash their fake checks, feds say. Many got arrested
Four men exploited the “desperation” of homeless people by promising them money for every fake check they cashed on the group’s behalf at banks throughout the Northeast, federal prosecutors say.
The group recruited unhoused people in Providence, Rhode Island, and drove them to banks where they would cash counterfeit checks worth at least $2,000 or more, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Rhode Island.
Several homeless people were arrested as a result of the scheme that prosecutors say caused banks in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine to lose nearly $481,000 in total.
Cortavious Benford, 27, of Georgia was sentenced to two years in federal prison on Aug. 30 after admitting he took part in the scheme with three other Georgia men: Austin Weaver, 27, Michael Williams, 27, and Jalen Ronald Stanford, 28, according to the attorney’s office. Benford is the last to be sentenced out of the group.
“The homeless individuals bore the brunt of this conduct as many of them ended up serving significant periods of incarceration while the defendants just drove away,” a sentencing court document states.
McClatchy News contacted attorneys listed for Benford, Weaver and Williams for comment on Aug. 31. Attorney contact information was not immediately available for Stanford.
Beginning in October 2018 until February 2021, $677,687 in fake checks “were presented to banks” by homeless people hired by the four men, the news release says.
These bogus checks listed the names and logos of legitimate businesses with their correct addresses and were computer generated, according to a complaint. All four men eventually admitted to creating the checks themselves, the release says.
In one instance on Feb. 5, 2021, Benford and Williams found a homeless man and drove him to a Providence bank to cash a fake check, according to the release. Prosecutors say the pair threatened to hurt the man if he did not hand over the money after cashing it.
This is when the group’s scheme began to unravel as Benford and Williams were “caught in the act” after Providence police were notified of a check fraud, court documents state.
While inside the bank, the homeless man was informed the check could not be cashed, according to court documents. He told the bank’s manager that two men who hired him to cash the check were sitting outside in a car.
The homeless man admitted to the bank manager that he agreed to cash the check for $200 as payment under the threat of violence, a sentencing document states.
Prosecutors say Benford and Williams fled, but police found them soon after with roughly $12,000 in cash and placed them under arrest, the release says. The two other men, Weaver and Stanford, were arrested at a later time.
Based on Benford’s background, it was determined that “greed” was his motivating factor for taking part in the scheme, his sentencing document states.
“In a single day, he was often able to make thousands upon thousands of dollars by recruiting homeless people to cash counterfeit checks … What’s more, he reasoned, he could make all this money virtually risk-free (or so he thought) as it was the homeless individuals who would have to enter the banks while he waited safely outside.”
All four men must pay $480,943 in restitution as part of their sentences, the release says.
Williams was first sentenced to 41 months in prison in February, according to the release. Stanford was sentenced to two years in prison in June, and Weaver was sentenced to 30 months in prison in July.
This story was originally published August 31, 2022 at 2:48 PM with the headline "Men hired homeless people to cash their fake checks, feds say. Many got arrested."
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