This arrest in Lincoln, NE didn’t make the national news, but it does show how far some people will go to take advantage of others. On Apr. 4., Derrick Andrews, 22, of Georgia was charged with three counts of second-degree forgery by Lincoln police for his involvement in a check-cashing scam that has been dubbed “Operation Homeless.”
A presentation given by Assistant United States Attorney John Cowles on Mar. 14, 2012 to a conference in Kansas City described how the scam works. “The scheme starts with theft of mail from mailboxes at business parks. Incoming and outgoing checks are stolen for the purpose of obtaining the bank routing information and the authorized signatures on the business accounts.”
On Apr. 4, in an interview on KLKN-TV in Lincoln after police arrested Andrews, Officer Katie Flood said, “We learned that men had come into LIncoln and offered the transients lodging in a hotel and fast food meals.” The scam relies on transient men to cash checks. The men are offered a portion of the check as well as fast food if they participate. After the arrest of the three transients who had cashed the checks, police discovered a rental car that had been used by the man who had recruited them. When police processed the car, they found a fingerprint belonging to Derrick Andrews in the car.
Police arrested Andrews during a traffic stop. He was positively identified by the transients involved and video surveillance confirmed his involvement.
