A Birmingham man has been federally charged in an app-based and seemingly lucrative fake check scheme that allegedly took more than $15 million from businesses, charitable groups and individuals.

Mekhi Diwone Harris, 23, is charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, according to a federal criminal complaint made public this week.

Court documents said the victims in the scheme include individuals, municipalities, utilities, churches, nursing homes, schools, nonprofit groups, and businesses across the county – including hundreds in the Northern District of Alabama.

“I have calculated that the total value of the checks posted to the ‘Work Related Slips’ Telegram channel between October 22, 2022, and August 8, 2023, is more than $15.1 million,’’ FBI Special Agent Megan Grose wrote in the complaint.

Harris is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals in Alabama.

He is represented by Birmingham attorneys Richard Jaffe and Michael Whisonant.

“It is very early in the process, as we have just recently been retained, but we look forward to representing his young man,’’ Jaffe said.

“He has family here and other long-standing strong ties to the Birmingham area and we hope to get him out of custody soon. In the meantime, we will continue to investigate these allegations.”

Authorities contend Harris, who lived in Birmingham’s Lakeview District until last month when he moved to Texas, used Telegram, a cloud-based instant messaging service that offers users the ability to send and receive end-to-end encrypted messages.

Each Telegram user has a specific username, Grose wrote in the sworn affidavit, and certain Telegram channels are dedicated to fraud and other illicit activity.

FBI agents based in Birmingham are investigating “Work Related Slips,” which is dedicated to the sale of stolen or otherwise fraudulent checks. The administrator has used the handle “@01ihk1″ and “@01ihk,” Grose said in court documents, and the FBI believes the handle is associated with Harris.

During the investigation, she said, she has observed the administrator post thousands of stolen or fraudulent checks on the “Work Related Slips” Telegram channel.

The agent explained that the Telegram administer – identified as Harris – took photographs of stolen checks and posted redacted copies on the Telegram channel to market them for sale.

He used Cash App and cryptocurrency as the primary methods of payment for the channel.

She said Harris has been linked to the “Work Related Slips” Telegram channel through various ways, including his Cash App account, text messages, travel records and social media.

“Harris has also been observed purchasing items used to manufacture counterfeit checks,” the agent wrote.

Cash App, which is owned by Block Inc., verified Harris’ Cash App account Oct. 22, 2021, at which time he provided the name Mekhi Harris as well as his social security number and date of birth. He also provided a photograph of the front and back of his Alabama’s driver’s license.

Harris’ transaction history, Grose contends, contains description of transactions that appear to reflect the purchase of stolen or fraudulent checks. The descriptions reference “GRAMZ &scams,” “slips,” and “food.”

“Based on my training and experience, as well as my familiarity with the facts of this investigation, I believe that these are references to stolen checks,’’ Grose wrote. “

The agent noted that Harris reportedly changed his tags on the apps several times. He also was forced to stop using Cash App at one point, when his account was “blacklisted” by the app owner, Grose state.

“Harris withdrew more than $20,000 from account,’’ Grose noted. “At times, the account balance exceeded $100,000.”

Grose said Harris has also been linked to the sale of stolen checks through text message communications.

Agents used photos from Harris’ social media accounts, including Instagram, to link him to the “Work Related Slips” channel. Specifically, they noted a “unique” bracelet that Harris wore in photos on the multiple sites.

Additionally, Grose wrote, Amazon records showed that from at least June 2021 through at least August 2022, Harris used his Amazon account to buy supplies needed to produce counterfeit checks, including bank-check compliant ink cartridges and toner, business check stock, counterfeit check testers and check readers.

The agent said Harris has taken steps to relocate the scheme to another jurisdiction. On July 21, 2023, Grose observed Harris and others removing boxes from his apartment in Birmingham’s Lakeview District and loaded them into a moving a truck.

On July 24, she wrote, she saw workers loading two vehicles associated with Harris and one vehicle associated with his girlfriend, onto a car transport vehicle.

Harris, she said, then drove to Houston.

Since then, Grose said, she has observed the “Work Related Slips” Telegram channel uploading checks on four different occasions since Harris relocated to Texas.

On Aug. 8, she said, she observed Harris post 13 checks totaling about $189,577 to the “Work Related Slips” Telegram channel.