U.S. Attorney: 19 Indicted for Stealing $350K

A federal grand jury has indicted 19 people from Atlanta and Decatur, charging them with stealing government money, credit card fraud and aggravated identity theft.

The defendants were allegedly involved in obtaining United States Treasury checks and fraudulently cashing them from June 2012 until September 2014, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.

The indictment alleges that some suspects acted as suppliers who stole the checks through various sources, including the U.S. mail. Stolen checks included those made out for taxpayers receiving refunds, retired federal employees receiving pension benefits, military families and Social Security beneficiaries.

The stolen checks were then sold to suspects who paid others to make fake Georgia driver’s licenses matching the names and addresses of victims who never received the checks. So-called “check runners” would used the fake IDs to cash the stolen checks at locations throughout the Atlanta area, such as Walmart, Kroger and Publix.

“People who commit these crimes prey upon unsuspecting victims, stealing the victims’ money and compromising their livelihoods, sometimes causing lifelong financial consequences,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates.

In total, the 19 suspects reportedly stole over $350,000.

Those indicted and their charges are:

• Hussain Abdullah, 33, of Atlanta -- conspiracy to commit theft of government funds, theft of government funds, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act Robbery
• Hudhayfah Abdullah, 31, of Atlanta -- conspiracy to commit theft of government funds, theft of government funds, aggravated identity theft, and lying on required form to purchase a firearm
• Asad Abdullah, 36, of Atlanta -- conspiracy to commit theft of government funds, theft of government funds, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit access device fraud, and access device fraud
• Hafid Abdur-Rabbani, 36, of Atlanta -- conspiracy to commit theft of government funds, theft of government funds, and aggravated identity theft
• Ibrahim Abudr-Rabbani, 32, of Decatur -- conspiracy to commit theft of government funds, theft of government funds and aggravated identity theft
• Khalil Majeed, 34, of Atlanta -- conspiracy to commit theft of government funds, theft of government funds, and aggravated identity theft
• Sayeed VAldez, 37, of Atlanta -- conspiracy to commit theft of government funds, theft of government funds, and aggravated identity theft
• Erica Willis, 35, of Atlanta -- conspiracy to commit theft of government funds, theft of government funds, and aggravated identity theft
• Dexter Willis, 35, of Atlanta -- conspiracy to commit theft of government funds
• Antonio Slaton, 36, of Atlanta -- conspiracy to commit theft of government funds
• Cory Howell, 42, of Atlanta -- conspiracy to commit theft of government funds
• Damion Davis, 30, of College Park, GA -- conspiracy to commit theft of government funds
• Ali Al-Amin, 35, of Atlanta -- conspiracy to commit theft of government funds, theft of government funds, and aggravated identity theft
• Zakariya Abdullah, 34, of Atlanta -- conspiracy to commit theft of government funds, theft of government funds, aggravated identity theft, and improper use of a passport
• Billee Cosby, 33, of Atlanta -- conspiracy to commit access device fraud, access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft
• Mikal Majeed, 32, of Ellenwood, GA -- conspiracy to commit access device fraud, access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft
• Muhajid Ahmad, 32, of Atlanta -- conspiracy to commit theft of government funds, theft of government funds, and aggravated identity theft
• Joann Drigo, 26, of Atlanta -- conspiracy to commit theft of government funds
• Jasmine Proctor, 19, of Atlanta -- conspiracy to commit theft of government funds, and theft of government funds

>>Image via Shutterstock

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