Man used fake checks at Walmart, then returned products for cash in $40K scam, feds say

When an Indiana man and woman accused of running a $40,975 scam were caught in 2021, an Illinois police department found dozens of stolen documents in their vehicle, according to federal authorities.

Those credit and debit cards, Social Security cards and identification cards — many of which were hidden in a fake dictionary — belonged to at least 40 people, authorities said.

“The Collinsville arrest of (Jamaine Brooks and Chelci Johnson) marked the end of a sophisticated fraud spree dating back to approximately March 2020,” prosecutors said. “Brooks and Johnson worked together with a ‘network of criminals’ to steal identities and cash checks in victims’ names.”

Johnson, referred to as a “fraudulent check expert,” would create fraudulent checks and clean ones that were previously issued, authorities said.

Brooks would then use those checks to buy merchandise at Walmart and other stores, officials said, and later return the product for cash refunds.

Meanwhile, the pair used stolen credit cards to pay for their travel costs, according to court records. They’re accused of causing $40,975.60 in losses.

Now Brooks, 46, of Fort Wayne has been sentenced to two years and one month in prison, according to a Nov. 3 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois. He also must serve three years of supervised release following his time in prison and pay $5,154.75 in restitution.

His defense attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In July, Brooks pleaded guilty to possession of five or more identification documents, possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices and aggravated identity theft, records show.

Johnson’s trial is upcoming.

When they were caught, authorities said Brooks had most recently used a stolen identity to buy more than $5,000 in goods from a Walmart in Collinsville, about 15 miles northeast of St. Louis.

“Evidence photos can be worth a thousand words. But including that photo is not appropriate here,” prosecutors said in court records. “So imagine an evidence table covered with over 70 driver’s licenses, credit and debit cards, and social security cards, as well as dozens of checks — all belonging to at least 40 real people who, in the midst of their everyday lives, will now have to prove, over and over again, that they really are who they claim to be, and not some imposter.”

This story was originally published November 7, 2023 at 11:22 AM with the headline "Man used fake checks at Walmart, then returned products for cash in $40K scam, feds say."