MOORHEAD, Minn. (KFGO) - Two men from Georgia are accused of recruiting local homeless people to cash fraudulent checks.
Court documents say the suspects recently approached two men and offered to pay them $600 to cash a fake check at a bank in Dilworth, Minn. Clay County Sheriff's Detective Jason Hicks says it’s a common scam used across the country.
“It’s called ‘Operation Homeless’ and what happens is people from outside the F-M area will come and recruit homeless, or transient people” Hicks said. “Say, for example, the check is for $1,200. They’ll go and cash the check and collect $200. The people behind the scenes will collect $1,000 and go on their way.”
Twenty four-year-old Sammy Justice Jr. and 25-year-old Aundraicus Bolden are charged with check forgery and receiving stolen property. They were arrested after one of the homeless men gave the bank teller a note with the suspects' vehicle description and license plate number. Hicks says the scammers typically use rental cars to make it difficult to track their whereabouts.
A search warrant affidavit also says that about $4,000 in fake checks were cashed by homeless people in Fargo and West Fargo.