Feds say Charlotte man stole $325K off armored car then put $40K down on luxury BMW
Two Charlotte men accused of separate crimes crossed paths Thursday morning in federal court, sharing what prosecutors describe as a larcenous, on-the-job connection to one of the city’s biggest banks.
Shomarley Hodge was indicted this week on charges that he stole some $325,000 of Wells Fargo money from the armored car on which he worked.
Minutes after Hodge’s initial appearance in court, Arlanda Henderson stood before the same judge to plead guilty to an array of charges tied to the $88,000 he pocketed last year while working inside a Wells Fargo vault.
Henderson infamously contributed to his own arrest by posting multiple Facebook photos of himself flashing large wads of cash, a photo shoot that turned the Charlotte man into somewhat of a social media celebrity after his December arrest.
Hodge appears to have kept a lower profile. Except, prosecutors say both men quickly used the bulk of their newfound liquidity on high-end German cars.
In July, according to his indictment, Henderson drove off the lot of a Northlake dealership in Charlotte with a 2019 Mercedes A2. He put $20,000 down, all in $100 bills. Characteristically, he soon posted photos of himself and his new ride.
Hodge? His indictment alleges that he stole $325,000 from his armored car on Jan. 31 that was supposed to replenish multiple Wells Fargo ATMs in Charlotte.
The next day, the indictment shows, Hodge signed the papers on a BMW X7 SUV — asking price $118,000 — and made a $40,000 down payment on Feb. 4.
Hodge now faces up to 50 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines if convicted of charges of theft, embezzlement and money laundering. The latter stems from 95 large ATM deposits — totaling at least $139,000 — that Hodge made into a friend’s bank account over the week following his illegal withdrawal, prosecutors allege.
After being indicted Tuesday, Hodge stood before U.S. Magistrate David Keesler at 10:30 a.m. Thursday and pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was released on $25,000 bond, court records show.
At around 11 a.m., it was Henderson’s turn.
In one of his Facebook posts, Henderson wore a T-shirt with the initials AWBB. Translation: “Ain’t wit being broke.”
In another in which he was surrounded by stacks of bills, he mused about his sudden good fortune. “I make it look easy,” he wrote, “but this shyt really a PROCESS.”
Nothing looked particularly easy about Henderson’s agreement with prosecutors. To avoid trial, he pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of bank fraud as well as transactional money laundering, crimes that carry a total of up to 70 years in prison and $2.25 million in fines.
In another Wells Fargo twist, Hodge and Henderson shared the same prosecutor: Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Ryan, who played a key role in the consumer-fraud investigation of the bank, in which Wells agreed last month to pay $3 billion.
If Ryan recoups all of what the FBI says Hodge and Henderson took, Wells will be getting about $400,000 of its money back.
This story was originally published March 20, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
