Public Workers Joined Ring That Stole IDs of Homeless People, D.A. Says

The fraud netted $1.2 million. Eventually, members of the group came to disagree about how the money would be divided, and some believed that one of the ringleaders had withheld thousands of dollars in proceeds and was keeping the money in a safe in his apartment. Two people, including Sameera Roberts Baker, 34, broke into the ringleader’s home, Mr. Bragg said. The other burglar has not yet been indicted, he said.

Charde Baker, 35, was a leader of the scheme to defraud the pandemic relief fund, Mr. Bragg said. She worked for the Department of Homeless Services, and used her employment there to steal the identities of homeless people, he said. She used money from the fraud to fund two trips to Mexico and another to Tanzania, Mr. Bragg said.

As the scammers filled out applications for bank cards, they discussed different professions they could list for the homeless people they were impersonating. In a text, an unnamed co-defendant told Ms. Baker in September 2020 that she had described a homeless person as a freelance writer, which she hoped “wasn’t cliché” according to the indictment.

A month later, a defendant named Shanice Roberts, 30, texted Mr. Baker to suggest they describe someone as a hairstylist. “Put suttin good so bread can be split 3 ways,” Ms. Roberts wrote.

As investigators closed in, the conspirators also took steps to suppress evidence, Mr. Bragg said. After one person was arrested, that defendant texted another, “throw it out the window…bro…throw it out,” referring to ghost gun parts and manufacturing equipment.

The recipient, a defendant named Adrienne Manigault, 25, texted back, “I did.”

The sprawling scheme included members who conspired on some elements but not on others, Mr. Bragg said. In a spate of crimes that involved illegally manufactured guns, identity theft, defrauding the government and burglary, Mr. Bragg said, “We have street crimes and white collar crime intertwined,” describing an increasingly common pattern. “We see a clear link between those engaging in violent crimes and traditional white-collar fraud at the same time.”