Counterfeit Check Scheme Targets US Mail, Causes $17 Million in Losses
A massive counterfeit check scheme targeting the US mail has been brought to justice, with two defendants sentenced for their roles in the massive fraud.
Brian Christopher Williams III, 25, and Kalaijha Tomeco Ranier Lewis, 29, were sentenced for their involvement in a scheme to defraud various federally insured banks and credit unions between November 2021 and June 2023.
To carry out the fraud scheme, Williams recruited Lewis, who worked at the post office on Saint Joseph Street in Mobile, to steal hundreds of high-value business checks and sell them to Williams.
According to court documents, Lewis stole business checks for Williams, who paid her $2,000 to $3,000 for each stack of stolen checks that she brought him. Williams and other coconspirators sold the stolen checks via an illicit online marketplace hosted on a Telegram channel called ‘Work Related.’
The scheme caused substantial financial losses to multiple victims, with the value of the stolen checks posted to the ‘Work Related’ channel exceeding $17 million.
On June 23, 2023, agents confronted Lewis after capturing her on video stuffing a large stack of stolen checks into her pants before the end of her work shift. Lewis confessed to stealing business checks for Williams.
That same day, agents arrested Williams at a gas station in Mobile, where he had arrived to purchase the stolen checks from Lewis. Agents seized more than $10,000 in cash from Williams’s pocket, which Williams admitted was proceeds of his fraud scheme.
Agents also searched Williams’s car, seizing a loaded .40 caliber Glock pistol equipped with an extended magazine, ammunition, marijuana, and stolen checks valued at more than $417,000.
Williams confessed to selling stolen checks to a coconspirator in Birmingham who marketed the checks for sale on Telegram.
Chief United States District Judge Jeffrey U. Beaverstock sentenced Williams and Lewis to serve 100 months and 60 months in federal prison, respectively.
Following their release from prison, Williams and Lewis will each serve five-year terms of supervised release, during which time they will receive mental health evaluation and treatment, and will be subject to credit restrictions.
The court did not impose a fine, but Chief Judge Beaverstock ordered the defendants to pay $234,246.63 in victim restitution and a total of $300 in special assessments.
The United States Postal Inspection Service and the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General investigated the case with significant assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Birmingham.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Roller and Scott Gray prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
Defendant/Respondent: Brian Christopher Williams III
Exact Criminal Charges: Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud
City and State: Mobile, Alabama
Exact Date: June 23, 2023
Sentence or Outcome: 100 months in federal prison, $234,246.63 in victim restitution, and a total of $300 in special assessments
Dollar Amounts: $17 million in losses, $10,000 in cash seized from Williams’s pocket, and more than $417,000 in stolen checks valued at
Related Federal Cases
- Academy Packing Co, Wire Fraud, Michigan 2002 · Alabama
- Ron Parsons, Bank Check Alteration Scheme, South Dakota 2023 · South Dakota
- Gedeon Papa Kwam Agbeyome, Money Laundering, Alabama 2023 · Alabama
- Edna Yvonne Orr Goff, Tax Defraud Scheme, GA, 2014 · Georgia
- David Salame, Iran Export Scheme, Maryland, 2023 · Puerto Rico
Key Facts
- State: Alabama
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
White Collar CrimeWhite Collar CrimeWhite Collar CrimeWhite Collar Crime