Lessie Dickerson Pleads Guilty in $2M Home-Improvement Fraud Scheme

Newark’s Lessie Dickerson III, 35, admitted his involvement in a colossal $2 million fraudulent check scheme that targeted home-improvement stores across the United States. U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced Dickerson’s guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden in Newark federal court.

According to court documents and statements, Dickerson conspired with others from December 2013 to February 2017 to steal merchandise worth over $2 million by using fraudulent checks to purchase high-value items like air conditioners and hardwood flooring. They would either use a fake name with authentic account numbers or pose as authorized signatories on store credit accounts they had fraudulently opened.

Dickerson and his associates are accused of making transactions in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and South Carolina. The scheme came to light after an extensive investigation by postal inspectors and special agents from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey.

Conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Dickerson’s sentencing is scheduled for September 16, 2019. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason S. Gould from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito extended his gratitude to various law enforcement agencies, including postal inspectors, Union Township Police Department, Holmdel Police Department, Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, Totowa Police Department, and Monroe Township Police Department, for their roles in the investigation.