Wednesday, August 22, 2001

Stolen check scam involves homeless people from Atlanta By JOHN MUNFORD jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com Fayette business owners are being asked to make sure their checkbooks are well-secured now that a stolen check scheme has made its way to Fayette County. Several checks were stolen last month from Fayette Garage Door, said Lt. Mahlon Donald of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department. They were likely stolen by at least two people working together to distract the owner and take several checks unnoticed, Donald said. Two suspects have been arrested after trying to cash the checks: Calvin Cornell and Alan Sanders. A third suspect has been arrested by another agency: Edward Jennings, who is currently in the DeKalb County jail. All three are charged with forgery. The catch is that the arrests won't stop the crimes, which have been occurring all over the metro Atlanta area "for years," Donald said. That's because those arrested are homeless people from Atlanta who are recruited to cash stolen or other fraudulent checks in return for a percentage of the profits, Donald said. The recruits are picked up in small groups before banks are targeted, Donald said. The suspects who have been arrested tried to cash the checks at the SunTrust Bank at Fayette Pavilion, Donald said. The Sheriff's Department will work with several other area agencies to investigate similar cases, Donald said. What do you think of this story? Click here to send a message to the editor. Back to the News Home Page| Back to the top of the page