Man charged with stealing nearly $500K from businesses
A man was arrested Thursday on charges that he stole over $495,000 in checks from Cherokee County businesses, according to local authorities.
Ryan Kenneth Adams, 33, has been charged with three felony counts of financial identity fraud and two felony counts of theft by deception, according to two warrants filed by the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office and one warrant filed by the Canton Police Department.
The Dec. 20 warrant, filed by the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office, accuses Adams of altering a business name to be a registered agent with the Georgia Secretary of State office to make it appear as if is he was the owner of Kars Mobile Recon in Ball Ground. Authorities say Adams opened a bank account and deposited and cashed 31 checks written to the business for services totaling $115,330, between April 18 and 25, 2022.
The Dec. 21 warrant, also from the sheriff’s office, also accuses Adams of using altered Georgia Secretary of State corporate filings and identifying information to access financial resources of Summit Stairs of Atlanta in Canton, without the authorization or permission of the owner. The warrant says Adams obtained 30 checks payable to the business and deposited those checks, totaling $130,565, into a PNC Bank account under the same business name between Feb. 28 and April 1, 2022.
A third warrant, filed Jan. 24 by the Canton Police Department, accuses Adams of obtaining or recording identifying information to assist him in accessing the financial resources of Playnation in Canton, without the authorization or permission of the business. In the warrant, police say Adams used the information of the business to open fraudulent bank accounts and deposited checks totaling over $250,000 that had been sent to Playnation. He is charged with opening several similar-sounding businesses through the Georgia Secretary of State’s office using information of Playnation. The alleged incident is reported to have taken place between March 1 and Nov. 16, 2022.
Adams was booked in the Cherokee County jail Thursday, and he was released the same day on a $24,375 bond, according to Cherokee Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Patty Pan.