Rasheed Colbert, a 33-year-old man from Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced this week in U.S. District Court in Portland for his role in a 2022 bank fraud conspiracy. Colbert, who pleaded guilty on May 30, 2024, was sentenced to 10 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $69,744 in restitution to cover the funds fraudulently obtained during the scheme.
According to court records, in March 2022, Colbert and his coconspirators engaged in a sophisticated fraud operation in which they stole checks from the mailboxes of local businesses. These stolen checks were then altered to create counterfeit versions. The counterfeit checks were made payable to unhoused individuals whom Colbert and his accomplices had recruited to cash them, thereby laundering the fraudulent funds. The scheme resulted in nearly $70,000 being illicitly cashed.
Colbert’s coconspirator, Mantavious Jones, 36, also from Atlanta, was sentenced to 16 months in prison for his involvement in the operation, followed by three years of supervised release. Both men were involved in a coordinated effort to exploit vulnerable individuals to cash the fraudulent checks, contributing to a large-scale fraud scheme that impacted local businesses.
The case was thoroughly investigated by the New England Fraud Task Force in collaboration with the Kennebunk Police Department, with assistance from the Saco and Scarborough police departments.
This conviction serves as a reminder of the importance of safeguarding financial information and the far-reaching consequences of participating in fraudulent schemes.
