Man Gets 5 Years for Faking Checks in Massachusetts and Georgia

A man who operated a sophisticated identity theft and counterfeit check ring out of homes in Boston and Georgia has been sentenced to more than five years in prison.

Jabril Shaheed was sentenced in federal court in Massachusetts on Tuesday to 65 months behind bars as well as three years of probation. He was also ordered to pay restitution. He pleaded guilty in June to four counts of bank fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

Federal prosecutors say Shaheed was the leader of a large-scale counterfeit check ring that he operated out of his apartment in Boston. He recruited dozens of others to cash hundreds of counterfeit checks between 2005 and 2007.

Authorities say after he fled Boston in 2007, he moved to Hampton, Ga., where he continued the scheme.

AP-CS-02-18-09 0537EST