An Alpharetta man, who was arrested last month in Canton after being labeled as a fugitive, has been moved to Florida to face charges in a $245,000 bank fraud scheme, records show.
Sherrod Anthony Wright, 35, of Alpharetta was booked into the Palm Beach, Fla., jail on June 12 to face 10 fraud-related felonies, according to online jail records. He has three co-defendants, including two men from metro Atlanta.
Wright, along with Robert Dedeaux, 38, of Chicago, and Maurice Jeffries, 33, of Atlanta, are accused of trying to steal more than $245,000 out of a Florida man's bank accounts in 2018, the Palm Beach Post reported.
Credit: Palm Beach (Fla.) Sheriff's Office
Credit: Palm Beach (Fla.) Sheriff's Office
A fourth man, Randy Leon Jackson, 29, of McDonough, also faces charges in the scheme, AJC.com previously reported. The suspects are accused of trying to steal $660,000, but they were only able to obtain less than half of that amount before their alleged scheme fell apart.
RELATED: Cops make 3rd arrest, accuse McDonough man of trying to steal $660K in bank scheme
Credit: Palm Beach (Fla.) Sheriff's Office
Credit: Palm Beach (Fla.) Sheriff's Office
In March 2018, Wright, Dedeaux and Jeffries are accused of pretending to be a 54-year-old man by using fake identification and a debit card. They hoped to make illegal withdrawals from several Bank of America offices in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Atlanta, the Palm Beach Post reported.
The suspects created a fake Florida driver’s license, which allowed them to withdrawal money from the man’s accounts, the newspaper reported. On Aug. 10, 2018, Wright is accused of moving $140,000 out of the Los Angeles-based account.
The scheme also included the suspects creating a fake bank account, where they housed the stolen funds, the newspaper reported. Using the victim’s Las Vegas-based account, they were allegedly able to steal $5,000.
However, they ran into problems in Atlanta on Aug. 13, 2018.
Dedeaux attempted to withdrawal $100,000 from the Atlanta-based account, but the transaction was flagged as fraudulent, according to the Palm Beach Post. Atlanta police were called, and while Dedeaux tried to flee, he was later arrested, authorities said.
This happened despite Jackson’s efforts, since he worked at the bank and attempted to use his position to help Dedeaux access the account, according to authorities. It led to his arrest on eight felonies in December 2019.
Investigators were later able to tie Jefferies to the scheme, leading to his arrest. However, Wright avoided capture until May, when he was found hiding in a 70-year-old woman’s house in Canton.
He was discovered inside the attic of Janette St. Julien’s home off Cessna Drive, which also led to her arrest on counts of harboring a fugitive and obstruction.
MORE: Woman accused of harboring Florida fugitive in her Canton home
Credit: Cherokee County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Cherokee County Sheriff's Office
Jackson bonded out of jail, while the other three suspects remain in custody, records show. All the suspects’ cases are still pending in court.
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