A Charlotte, NC check fraud group made an extensive amount of cash from five banks for over a year.
Omontie Rowe, 22, Fredrick Clark, 27, Fabio Wolfe, 27, and Jacoby Berry, 26, all pleaded guilty in federal court to aggravated identity theft on January 9, 2020.
In fact, Omontie was charged with the murder of a 63-year-old grandmother in 2019.
The fraudsters were part of an extensive check-cashing scheme that caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses to at least five financial institutions.
They used social media to boast about their scheme and to recruit others.
From January 2018 through June 2019, the fraud crew executed a check cashing scheme by obtaining business and personal checks that were stolen, counterfeit or altered by members of the conspiracy. After depositing the worthless checks into various bank accounts, the suspects made multiple cash withdrawals and purchases before the victim banks detected the fraud.
The crew called themselves the “All Profit Group,” or “AP Group,” and bragged 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.
The recruited straw account holders were promised a payment of $100 to $1,500, in exchange for allowing the suspects to use the account holders’ new or existing bank accounts to perpetuate the fraud.
All four defendants have pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft.
