Two men were arraigned for their alleged roles in a phony check scheme that stole more than $2 million in merchandise from multiple home improvement stores throughout the country.
Lessie Dickerson III, 33, of Union, and John Muyeka, 42, of Sayreville, are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and two counts each of wire fraud. Muyeka is also charged with one count of producing false identification documents, according to information provided by U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito.
Both men pleaded not guilty on April 17 before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden in Newark federal Court.
From December 2013 to February 2017, several individuals, including Dickerson and Muyeka, allegedly conspired to obtain merchandise or store credit from home improvement stores along the eastern United States by purchasing items with fraudulent checks, according to the statement.
Muyeka allegedly produced false driver’s licenses from New Jersey and other states using photographs of his conspirators, along with fictitious names, addresses and dates of birth. Muyeka allegedly provided the fraudulent identification documents to his conspirators, according to the statement.
Dickerson and others allegedly entered home improvement and other retail stores and gathered several high value items like air conditioners or hardwood flooring, police allege. Dickerson and others then typically “purchased” the items either by handing a cashier a fraudulent check with a phony name but authentic account and routing numbers, or by pretending to be an authorized signatory on a store credit account that Dickerson and others had previously opened with a phony check, according to the statement.
During some of the transactions, Dickerson and others allegedly displayed the fake driver’s licenses that had reportedly been created by Muyeka, which either duplicated the phony name imprinted on the fraudulent check they presented for payment or matched the name of an authorized signatory on a store credit account they had previously opened, according to the statement.
In total, Dickerson, Muyeka and others allegedly stole more than $2 million in merchandise from various retailers in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, South Carolina and Texas.
Dickerson and Muyeka each face 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the wire fraud charges. Muyeka faces 15 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine for the producing false identification documents charge.