An Atlanta rapper and previously convicted felon has been sentenced to prison time after running a $6.5 million stolen check scheme and promoting how-to fraud tutorials, federal prosecutors said.
Shamarri Tache Brooks, a 34-year-old Stone Mountain rapper who goes by "Juney Knotzz," was sentenced to six years in prison followed by five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. He has previous convictions for drug trafficking, weapon possession, obstruction of law enforcement and battery, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
“In addition to personally committing bank fraud, Brooks brazenly marketed and sold fraud tutorials and trafficked thousands of stolen
checks worth millions of dollars. Thankfully, Brooks’s ineptitude matched his boldness—his efforts to negotiate the checks failed, sparing his victims from any known loss,” U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said in a statement. “Although Brooks sought to teach his followers how to commit fraud, the real lesson here is that crime does not pay. We will catch you, and you will go to prison—even if your scheme is unsuccessful.”
'Sauce Book' teaches fraud
Starting in January 2022, Brooks began a fraud scheme by "negotiating checks stolen from the mail," prosecutors said. Brooks would recruit people through social media to deposit the stolen checks into their existing bank accounts, then would alter the checks to appear like they had been intended for those account holders..
Once the account was agreed, Brooks would go to various ATMs around the Atlanta metro wearing a "balaclava-style mask" with a "No Free Sauce" logo and deposit the checks.
Over the course of nearly three years, Brooks and his associate stole and deposited checks totaling a face value of $6,574,288.
At the same time, Brooks was promoting and selling tutorials for "committing various forms of financial fraud" including the check scheme he was running. He called the collection of tutorials the "Sauce Book" or "SB," matching his initials. He also sold images of stolen checks, or "slips," as part of his business of fraud.
During a search of Brooks' home, law enforcement recovered many of the stolen checks amounting to the $6.5 million. Investigators believe any of the remainder of the stolen checks had not been successfully deposited.
The FBI worked with the U.S. Postal Service as well as Dunwoody Police to make an arrest in the case.
Tips to protect yourself from check fraud
The conviction comes shortly after a fellow Atlanta native, and former U.S.P.S employee was charged with stealing more than $1 million worth of checks and gift cards from the mail.
Federal investigators shared ways to protect your money and mail amid ongoing thefts:
- Make sure to pick up your mail shortly after delivery and do not leave mail in your mailbox overnight
- Place a hold on your mail if you are going out of town for more than a couple days. A request can be made through your local post office
- USPS offers "Informed Delivery" which provides an update of incoming mail and packages
- If you do not receive a check you were expecting, immediately contact the sender
- Consider using security envelopes that can better conceal the contents of your mail
- If mailing checks or other financial documents, use a signature confirmation for the recipient to guarantee it lands in the right hands
- Send mail using the letter slots inside your local post office rather than your mailbox for important mail
- Check with your financial institution about ways to prevent stolen checks from being cashed fraudulently
Irene Wright is the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Atlanta rapper sold fraud tutorials while running $6.5 million scheme
