Two Georgia men are accused of sending a recruited man into Missouri banks with suspected forged checks while they waited outside in a silver SUV.
Police say he was directed to change clothes between stops before detectives approached the vehicle outside a bank in Branson.
Jahquan Xzandre Crawford, 34, of Lithonia, and Rossie Andre Jefferies, 29, of Avondale Estates, were arrested Oct. 27, 2026, after detectives monitored attempted check transactions in southwest Missouri.
Prosecutors filed one Class D felony forgery count against each man the following day.
Recruit Told Police He Feared Refusing the Check-Cashing Trips
Detective Zachary L. Hamilton wrote that investigators were examining a group believed to have traveled from the Atlanta area to southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas to recruit homeless people for fraudulent banking transactions. One man told police he had been recruited, transported to banks and instructed to present checks made out in his name.
The man said he was told to stay on a cellphone call with the people directing him during the transactions. According to the Branson Police Department’s probable-cause statements, the organizers allegedly kept the money from successful check cashing and paid the recruit only a small amount. He also told detectives that he feared what might happen if he refused.
Police Followed a Silver Buick Between Banks Before a Clothing Change
On Oct. 27, the cooperating man told detectives the suspected organizers had contacted him to ask whether he was ready. Flock license-plate cameras helped police trace a silver Buick SUV from Georgia into southwest Missouri, and officers located the vehicle in Branson before watching it stop at a fast-food restaurant to collect the witness.
Before the first stop, officers searched the cooperating man and reported that he was not carrying forged checks. He then tried to negotiate a check allegedly supplied by the suspects at Seymour Bank in Rogersville. The group continued to Marshfield and circled another Seymour Bank location without attempting a transaction, according to Hamilton’s account.
Before the next stop, the man said he was directed to buy different clothes from a thrift store and change his appearance. The Buick returned to Branson, where the witness entered Regions Bank on Commercial Street with another suspected forged check while officers watched the SUV circle the building.
Police Found Suspected Forged Checks Near Crawford’s Seat
When officers approached the Buick outside Regions Bank, Jefferies was driving and Crawford was sitting in the rear, according to the two probable-cause statements. Jefferies was on a cellphone believed to connect him with the man inside the bank, who later told police the check had been declined.
During an inventory of the vehicle, officers reported finding multiple suspected forged checks payable to the cooperating man. Crawford’s statement says the checks were in a seat compartment directly in front of where he had been sitting, and investigators also recovered the clothes the man had changed out of earlier in the day. After receiving a Miranda warning, Jefferies told detectives he had been tasked with renting the SUV and driving for the illegal activity, according to the probable-cause statement.
Both Men Pleaded Not Guilty and Face November 9 Bond Hearings
Prosecutors charged Jefferies in Taney County case 2646-CR02348 and Crawford in case 2646-CR02349. Their filed felony complaints each allege that, on or about Oct. 27, the defendant completed a check with the purpose to defraud so it appeared to have been authorized by someone who had not given that authorization.
Each forgery charge is a Class D felony under Missouri Revised Statute 570.090, carrying a possible prison sentence of up to seven years. Detective Hamilton’s statements discussed suspected exploitation and potential forced labor, but neither filed complaint charges the defendants with a trafficking offense.
At their Oct. 30 initial appearances, both men pleaded not guilty and were referred to public defenders. Judge Renee Tiffany Yarnell denied requests to change their no-bond conditions and set both bond hearings for Nov. 9 at 10 a.m.