Looks like someone took the phrase “cashing out” a little too literally. Jeremiah Carbon, a 36-year-old from Lithonia, Georgia, learned the hard way that crime doesn’t pay – at least not for long.
“Carbon took advantage of a monetary instrument intended to serve as a secure means for transferring funds and used it for his personal gain,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Maintaining the security of our banking systems is paramount as millions of Americans rely on these institutions to protect and grow their finances. Thanks to the investigative efforts of our law enforcement partners at the U.S. Secret Service, Carbon will be held accountable and will face the consequences for his crimes.”
“Carbon believed he could evade law enforcement when he resumed his criminal ways,” said Frederick D. Houston, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service Atlanta Field Office. “What he learned is that the Secret Service consistently adapts our methods to uncover illicit financial schemes. We are mandated to safeguard our nation’s critical financial infrastructure and will continue to deploy every asset to do just that.”
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Carbon, a self-proclaimed money order maestro (we’re assuming), orchestrated a symphony of fraud that would make even the most seasoned con artist raise an eyebrow. He waltzed into retail stores across multiple states, armed with a collection of fake IDs and a mischievous grin (probably), purchasing nearly 1,500 money orders.
But here’s the kicker: he’d make copies of these money orders, deposit the fakes into various bank accounts, and then – with the audacity of a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat – return the original blank money orders for a refund. Poof! Nearly $1.5 million vanished from federally insured banks.
Unfortunately for Carbon, his magic trick had one fatal flaw: a traffic violation.
In 2022, Gwinnett County deputies caught him with his hands in the cookie jar (or rather, the money order stash). His car was practically a fraudster’s starter kit, complete with blank money orders, a printer, and even a firearm – a big no-no for a convicted felon.
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Carbon was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison, proving that even the most elaborate schemes can be foiled by a simple traffic stop. Guess you could say his “get out of jail free” card expired.
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