According to the Sacramento Business Journal, on Monday, Judge Damrell sentenced a Sacramento man alleged to be a gang member to 10 years in prison for a creative business fraud scheme described as follows:
A Sacramento gang member was sentenced to 10 years, 10 months in federal prison for bank fraud, stemming from a scheme that netted more than $1 million from banks across the country.
Charles Barksdale, 28, also known as “Sho”, entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Frank Damrell Jr. in February. He was sentenced Monday in federal court in Sacramento.
The scheme sent runners around California and as far away as Alabama, Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas. They would go to banks with a pre-paid credit card charged with little money. The runner would then convince the bank to call a toll-free number authorizing more money. The toll-free number went to a member of the group, who would pose as a bank agent to authorize the transaction.
The runner kept some money and sent Barksdale half.