Overview
- Jaiswan Williams, Daquan Foreman, Vanessa Hargrove and Crystal Jenkins pleaded guilty to conspiracy to aid and abet bank and wire fraud, according to federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Michigan.
- Hargrove and Jenkins diverted checks from the mail, including large volumes of U.S. Treasury tax refunds, and supplied them to Williams and Foreman for resale.
- Williams and Foreman marketed the stolen checks on Telegram channels, including Whole Foods Slipsss for higher-dollar items and Uber Eats Slips for lower-dollar checks, with off-platform electronic payments.
- Williams also pleaded guilty to money laundering and accepted responsibility for $1.5 million in fraudulent pandemic unemployment insurance claims submitted between May 2020 and September 2021.
- Sentencing is set before U.S. District Judge Judith E. Levy, with Foreman and Hargrove on March 3, Williams on April 14 and Jenkins on May 27, and maximum penalties of up to 30 years for the conspiracy and up to 20 additional years for Williams on money laundering.