5 Men From NY Face Human Trafficking Charges in Alabama, Accused of Exploiting Homeless Pair for Bank Fraud
Five New York men are in jail in Alabama after allegedly selling narcotics and promising money to two homeless persons from Connecticut to commit crimes in multiple places across the state and beyond.
Leeds police announced on Friday the arrest of five men on human trafficking allegations. All five are still being held without bond in the Jefferson County Jail.
According to Leeds police Chief Paul Irwin, the investigation began on September 4 when officers were dispatched to Millennial Bank on Parkway Drive in response to a report of a man making fraudulent withdrawals using phony identification.
When the police came, the man escaped but was apprehended after a brief pursuit.
Detectives with the Special Investigations Unit discovered that the individual was working for three men from New York. It was found that the individual was homeless and resided in Hartford.
The suspects are Jaylen Scott-King, 27, Omari Daeshaun Cunningham, 24, and Jeffrey Sajay Smith, 24.
Later in the inquiry, with the help of the Homewood Police Department, detectives discovered two more males from New York in the operation, who were leading a homeless woman from Hartford.
The accused were identified as Belvis Dapaah, 28, and Nana Gyapong, 26.
According to Irwin, the investigation revealed that the suspects transported the two homeless people to the southeast, particularly Alabama.
Under the orders of Scott-King, Cunningham, Smith, Dapaah, and Gyapong, the couple entered various banks and made fraudulent withdrawals using forged IDs and passports.
“These two homeless people were given a plethora of illegal narcotics and promised a percentage of the illegally obtained currency, which they never received,” Irwin said.
It was determined that crimes, including fraudulent withdrawals, occurred in Leeds, Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Irondale, Birmingham, Pell City, Trussville, Anniston, and Montgomery.
The inquiry is still underway, and authorities believe additional Alabama cities were involved.
Dapaah and Cunningham were apprehended alongside the homeless woman on September 5 with the assistance of Homewood police. The two homeless people received assistance in returning to Connecticut. Police have not disclosed whether they were charged.
The investigation is ongoing, and additional charges are pending.
Several agencies are investigating, including the Homewood, Hoover, Irondale, and Vestavia Hills police departments, the Houston County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, the United States Department of Homeland Security, the Oxford Police Department’s East Metro Area Crime Center, and the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office.