A Georgia man will spend the next three years in federal prison for stealing more than $200,000 by hiring impoverished individuals to cash counterfeit payroll checks at credit unions and banks in Utah.

In August 2024, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity fraud.

According to court documents and statements at a sentencing hearing, from April to October 2022, Goodwin and his associates traveled from Georgia to Utah several times to carry out a sophisticated check fraud scheme.