PORTLAND, Maine: An Atlanta, Georgia man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Portland to conspiring to commit bank fraud.
According to court records, in March 2022, Rasheed Colbert, 32, and a coconspirator, Mantavious Jones, stole checks from the mailboxes of local businesses then used the stolen checks to create counterfeit checks. Unhoused individuals who could provide identification were recruited for what they were told was a job in exchange for money. Counterfeit checks were made payable to the individuals, and they were provided with work-style clothing and driven to bank branches to cash the checks. Colbert and Jones netted just under $70,000 from the cashed counterfeit checks.