A Birmingham man has been sentenced to federal prison for his role running an app-based and seemingly lucrative fake check scheme that allegedly took more than $10 million from businesses, charitable groups and individuals.
U.S. District Judge Madeline Haikala sentenced Mekhi Diwone Harris, 25, to 10 years in prison and ordered him to forfeit $160,000.
Harris was arrested last year and in April 2024 pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.
Court documents said the victims in the scheme include individuals, municipalities, utilities, churches, nursing homes, schools, nonprofit groups, and businesses across the country – including hundreds in the Northern District of Alabama.
“I have calculated that the total value of the checks posted to the ‘Work Related Slips’ Telegram channel between October 22, 2022, and August 8, 2023, is more than $15.1 million,’’ FBI Special Agent Megan Grose wrote in the 2023 federal complaint.
“Check fraud is a growing national problem,” Northern District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona said Thursday. “That is in no small part due to Telegram channels like the one run by the defendant, which operated as a one-stop shop for other scammers to purchase stolen financial instruments.”
Authorities said Harris, who lived in Birmingham’s Lakeview District until last year when he moved to Texas, used Telegram, a cloud-based instant messaging service that offers users the ability to send and receive end-to-end encrypted messages.
Each Telegram user had a specific username, Grose wrote in the sworn affidavit, and certain Telegram channels are dedicated to fraud and other illicit activity.
During the investigation, she said, she has observed the administrator post thousands of stolen or fraudulent checks on the “Work Related Slips” Telegram channel.
The agent explained that the Telegram administer – identified as Harris – took photographs of stolen checks and posted redacted copies on the Telegram channel to market them for sale.
He used Cash App and cryptocurrency as the primary methods of payment for the channel.
She said Harris was linked to the “Work Related Slips” Telegram channel through various ways, including his Cash App account, text messages, travel records and social media.
Cash App, which is owned by Block Inc., verified Harris’ Cash App account Oct. 22, 2021, at which time he provided the name Mekhi Harris as well as his social security number and date of birth. He also provided a photograph of the front and back of his Alabama’s driver’s license.
Harris’ transaction history, authorities said, contained description of transactions that appear to reflect the purchase of stolen or fraudulent checks. The descriptions reference “GRAMZ &scams,” “slips,” and “food.”
The agent noted that Harris reportedly changed his tags on the apps several times. He also was forced to stop using Cash App at one point, when his account was “blacklisted” by the app owner, Grose stated.
Agents used photos from Harris’ social media accounts, including Instagram, to link him to the “Work Related Slips” channel. Specifically, they noted a “unique” bracelet that Harris wore in photos on the multiple sites.
Additionally, Grose wrote, Amazon records showed that from at least June 2021 through at least August 2022, Harris used his Amazon account to buy supplies needed to produce counterfeit checks, including bank-check compliant ink cartridges and toner, business check stock, counterfeit check testers and check readers.
The FBI investigated the case with significant assistance from the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the U.S. Secret Service Cyber Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Canter prosecuted.
“Fraud poses a fundamental threat to our national security as well as to our everyday way of life,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Peeples. “The FBI is committed to coordinating with our partners and aggressively pursuing those who seek to victimize others for their personal gain. I hope this sentencing serves as a warning to others who might engage in these types of schemes.”
