Pot-Smoking Driver In Georgia Busted With $66K In Stolen Checks From New York

What started as a traffic stop for weed led authorities in Georgia to uncover a check-cashing and mail fraud scheme. 

What Happened: The Elite Blackhawk Squad - yes, Clayton County has a traffic team with this name and one of their specialties is tracking down weed on the move - pulled a man over because he was talking on his cell phone and smoking what they said appeared to be a “marijuana cigar,” which one can only assume was a larger-than-normal joint.

Newly-elected Sheriff Levon Allen said in a press release that, upon search of the joint-puffing gentleman’s vehicle, the elite squad found a plastic FedEx FDX package containing 54 checks, all post-marked from New York, totaling nearly $66,000. Investigators also learned that 30-year-old Marquavius Shanard Williams was wanted by the Atlanta Police Department for aggravated assault, probation violation, possession of MDMA and possessing a firearm.

Those Checks? 

The Blackhawk Squad contacted one victim during their investigation, who told them she did not know Williams nor how he’d gotten his hands on one of her checks.

How Do The Check Thieves Do It? Organized Crime

Georgia State University criminologist David Maimon told Channel 2 Action News that checks are posted online by criminals, for other criminals to use.

“They take pictures, upload them on platforms and upload them for sale,” Maimon said in an interview last year. “It’s not a group of adolescents stealing your mail. We’re talking organized crime groups who at the end of the day know exactly what they’re doing.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. Postal Service reports an uptick in mail theft with more than 25,000 incidents reported so far in 2023, according to data released on May 12. Robberies against mail carriers are also on the rise, officials said. “We’re doubling down on our efforts to protect our Postal employees and the security of the mail,” said U.S. Postal Inspection Service Chief Gary Barksdale, adding that the USPS plans to harden targets, “both physical and digital to make them less desirable to thieves.”