Omontie Rowe, Check Cashing Scheme, North Carolina 2023

Charlotte Man Pleads Guilty in Check Cashing Scheme

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Omontie Rowe, 22, of Charlotte, pleaded guilty in federal court to aggravated identity theft, for his role in an extensive check-cashing scheme that caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses to at least five financial institutions.

The scheme, which lasted from January 2018 through June 2019, involved Rowe and his three co-defendants, Jacoby Berry, Fredrick Clark, and Fabio Wolfe, obtaining business and personal checks that were stolen, counterfeit or altered by members of the conspiracy. The co-conspirators then deposited the worthless checks into various bank accounts, made multiple cash withdrawals and purchases before the victim banks detected the fraud.

Court records show that the four defendants called themselves the “All Profit Group,” or “AP Group,” and boasted about their successful check fraud scheme on social media, by posting images of themselves with handfuls of cash. They also used social media to recruit “straw account holders,” by posting to social media websites and approaching individuals with the promise of an easy pay day.

According to court records, the recruited straw account holders were promised a payment of $100 to $1,500, in exchange for allowing the co-defendants to use the account holders’ new or existing bank accounts to perpetuate the fraud.

All four co-defendants have pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and are awaiting sentencing. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory minimum prison term of two years. A sentencing date has not been set.

U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray thanked the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for their investigation of the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maria Vento and William Miller are in charge of the prosecution.

Omontie Rowe, 22, of Charlotte, is currently awaiting sentencing for aggravated identity theft after pleading guilty to his role in a check cashing scheme. The scheme, which lasted from January 2018 through June 2019, caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses to at least five financial institutions.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdnc/pr/fourth-charlotte-man-pleads-guilty-check-cashing-scheme