Georgia Man sentenced to federal prison for bank fraud scheme to exploit homeless Rhode Islanders

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) – 26-year old Michael Williams of Atlanta, Georgia was convicted for his role to get homeless individuals to bank thousands of dollars in counterfeit checks in exchange for cash,  plead guilty to bank fraud, and was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison, this Wednesday morning.

“This defendant’s actions in this case resulted in substantial losses, but equally if not more importantly, his actions managed to victimize some of society’s most vulnerable in an effort to line his pockets, recruiting them to take the risk for his benefit,” remarked U.S. Attorney Cunha. “Today’s sentence appropriately reflects the harm this defendant’s scheme caused, both financially and to individuals.”

According to court documents, numerous homeless individuals were arrested at banks throughout the region trying to cash counterfeit business checks, from October 2018 to February 2021. When questioned, most had similar stories, given the opportunity to cash bogus checks in exchange for payments. Williams and others would create counterfeit checks, usually $2,000 or more, and then drove them to a bank to cash it, individuals would later be paid $100 per check cashed. On February 5, Williams and another person recruited a person and drove them to a bank to cash a check, and threatened to injure him if he didn’t provide them with the earnings. From inside the bank, the man pointed the vehicle out, where Providence Police found and arrested Williams and seized $12,000 in cash.

After a court-authorized search, he had items to create counterfeit checks, as well as numerous stolen checks and $5,000 in cash.

The investigation determined Williams tried to cash $677,687 worth of counterfeit checks across New England, causing losses of approximately $480,000.

Besides 41 months in federal prison and 3 years of federal supervised release, Williams will also pay a restitution of $480,000.