Shamarri Tache Brooks. Courtesy of U.S. Department of Justice, Northern District of Georgia
ATLANTA - A Stone Mountain rapper who prosecutors say turned check fraud into a business — complete with tutorials teaching others how to do it — will spend six years in federal prison.
What we know:
Shamarri Tache Brooks, 34, also known as Juney Knotzz, was sentenced Aug. 27 after pleading guilty in May to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.
PREVIOUS STORY: Bank fraud: Atlanta music artist pleads guilty in check theft scheme
The ‘Sauce Book’
Federal prosecutors say that from at least January 2022 through November 2025, Brooks used social media to recruit people willing to let him deposit stolen checks into their bank accounts.
Brooks allegedly altered checks stolen from the mail to make those account holders appear to be the intended recipients. He then deposited them at ATMs around metro Atlanta, sometimes while wearing a balaclava-style mask bearing the words "No Free Sauce."
Courtesy of U.S. Department of Justice, Northern District of Georgia
But prosecutors say Brooks wasn't just committing fraud himself. He also sold tutorials explaining how to carry out financial crimes, including check fraud. A collection of the tutorials was marketed as the "Sauce Book" or "SB."
Brooks also sold images of stolen checks, which he called "slips," according to prosecutors.
More than $6.5 million in stolen checks
What they're saying:
Authorities said Brooks and his associates obtained checks with a combined face value of $6,574,288.
Many were recovered from Brooks' home, however, and prosecutors said there is no evidence he successfully negotiated the remaining checks.
"Although Brooks sought to teach his followers how to commit fraud, the real lesson here is that crime does not pay," U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg said.
Brooks was sentenced to six years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Prosecutors said his previous convictions include drug trafficking, weapons possession, obstruction of law enforcement and battery.
The investigation involved the FBI, U.S. Secret Service, FDIC Office of Inspector General and U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, with assistance from Dunwoody police and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.