What started as a traffic stop led officers in Georgia to uncover a check-cashing and mail fraud scheme.
What happened: The Elite Blackhawk Squad – Yes, there is a traffic team by this name in Clayton County and they have a specialty tracking weed On the go – pulled a man over because he was talking on his cell phone and what he said appeared to be smoking “marijuana cigars” which one can only assume is a larger addition than normal.
Newly-elected Sheriff Levon Allen said in a press release that, upon jointly searching the vehicle of the puffing gentleman, the elite squad found a plastic FedEx FDX The package contained 54 checks, all post-marked from New York, totaling approximately $66,000. Investigators also learned that 30-year-old Marquivius Shanard Williams was wanted by the Atlanta Police Department for aggravated assault, probation violation, possession of MDMA and firearm possession.
that check?
During their investigation, the Blackhawk Squad was contacted by a victim who told them that she did not know Williams nor how she had cashed one of his checks.
How do check thieves do it? Organized crime
Georgia State University criminologist David Maimon told Channel 2 Action News that checks are posted online by criminals, for other criminals to use.
“They take pictures, upload them to platforms and upload them for sale,” Maimon said in an interview last year. “This is not a group of teenagers stealing your mail. We are talking organized crime groups who at the end of the day know what they are doing.
Meanwhile, the US Postal Service According to data released on May 12, 2023 has registered a rise in mail theft with more than 25,000 incidents so far. Robberies against postal carriers are also on the rise, officials said. “We are doubling our efforts to protect our postal workers and mail,” said the head of the US Postal Inspection Service. Gary Barksdale, Adding that the USPS plans to harden the target, “to make both physical and digital items less desirable to thieves.”