Two-Year Investigation Results in 19 Fraud and Forgery Indictments in Gwinnett County
The Gwinnett County Police Department, in collaboration with the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office, has successfully indicted two individuals on a total of 19 fraud and forgery-related charges.
In August 2022, detectives from the Electronic Financial Crime Unit began investigating Winston Dougan in connection with a fraud case involving a victim in Illinois who was scammed into sending a $192,987 wire transfer via a business email compromise scheme. The victim believed the funds were being sent to a service provider, but they were actually deposited into a bank account belonging to Winston Dougan. Investigators determined that Dougan converted the funds for his own use and sent a $133,000 check to Mikhail Roosevelt Keize.
On October 7, 2022, Dougan attempted to cash a fraudulent check at a local bank using fake identification. Officers from the Central precinct responded and arrested Dougan, discovering multiple forged identifications and debit cards in his possession. Detectives interviewed Dougan at Gwinnett County Police headquarters and seized his cell phone as evidence before booking him into the Gwinnett County jail.
A subsequent investigation revealed that Dougan controlled over six fraudulent bank accounts, resulting in approximately $441,000 in losses from eight victims across multiple states, including California, Iowa, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois, and Florida, between June and August 2022.
On July 17, 2024, the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office returned an 18-count indictment against Dougan, including seven counts of theft by receiving stolen property over $25,000, six counts of identity fraud, four counts of first-degree forgery, and one count of third-degree forgery. Mikhail Keize was indicted on one count of theft by receiving stolen property over $25,000.
Detectives urge the public to exercise caution when receiving emails from vendors or service providers requesting changes to payment information. They recommend contacting the vendor directly to confirm the authenticity of such requests.
