Two Georgia men are accused in a check-cashing scheme in Southwestern Pennsylvania that preyed on local residents and businesses closed for the weekend, according to court papers.

Jon Jon Detrell Anthony and Jurele McKnight, both 31, are charged in Westmoreland County with corrupt organizations, access device fraud, theft, receiving stolen property and conspiracy. Anthony was arrested last week and is being held in the county jail on $150,000 bail.

An arrest warrant has been issued for McKnight.

Investigators with Homeland Security told state troopers that an organized group was working out of the Atlanta area, cashing checks that were stolen from the mailboxes of businesses and forged. The group recruited people who were homeless or battling a drug addiction to cash the reprinted checks and hand over the money, according to court papers.

State troopers, after getting a tip that illegal activity was happening in a room at a Monroeville hotel, conducted surveillance on April 18, 2018, outside a Days Inn. Investigators followed three people who left that hotel in a Nissan Rogue around the area until they stopped in Pittsburgh’s Perry North neighborhood and picked up a man and woman.

The group was followed to a McCandless bank. Police said as the man and woman walked toward the bank, the man spotted police and said someone in the vehicle had a gun.

Investigators said a loaded pistol and marijuana was found near where McKnight was seated in the vehicle. In his underwear were seven torn up forged business checks totaling $14,506 made out to the man and woman, according to court papers.

Troopers believe those checks were stolen during the weekend of April 14-15, 2018, from the mailboxes of three businesses in Irwin. All were checks made out to those businesses for payments from other businesses or municipalities.

Police learned from the male witness that he and another man were driven to banks in Allegheny, Cambria, Somerset and Westmoreland counties on April 16-17, 2018, to cash five stolen and reprinted checks totaling $12,524.

Two banks refused to cash two other checks totaling $4,710 after tellers believed they were fraudulent, according to court papers. Police said those who cashed the checks got paid for doing so and the suspects kept the rest of the money.

Authorities said Anthony approached the Perry North man outside a Pittsburgh drug store, asking if he would help out with a business proposition. The other man reported a similar situation to police, being asked by two men in a minivan if he wanted to make some money cashing checks. All three identified a location in McKeesport as being used by the suspects to print fraudulent checks, according to court papers.

Others are facing similar charges in connection with the alleged scheme, but they had not been arraigned on charges and court documents were unavailable.

Anthony did not have an attorney listed in online court records. A preliminary hearing is set for Friday.

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