PORTLAND, Maine — A Georgia man was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Portland this week for conspiring to commit bank fraud in 2022.
Rasheed Colbert, 33, of Atlanta, pleaded guilty on May 30, 2024. He was sentenced to 10 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Colbert was also ordered to pay $69,744 in restitution, according to a Tuesday press release from the United States Attorney's Office District of Maine.
"According to court records, in March 2022, Colbert and coconspirators stole checks out of the mailboxes of local businesses then used the stolen checks to create counterfeit checks," the release states. "The counterfeit checks were made payable to unhoused individuals Colbert and others recruited to cash them. Colbert and his coconspirators netted just under $70,000 from the cashed counterfeit checks."
Colbert's coconspirator Mantavious Jones, 36, of Atlanta, was sentenced to 16 months in prison for his part in the scheme, followed by three years of supervised release, officials said.
This case was investigated by the New England Fraud Task Force and Kennebunk Police Department. They were assisted by the Saco and Scarborough police departments.
