A man who pretended to be a charity solicitor and hijacked people’s Zelle accounts in order to steal cash has been sentenced to two years of “second chance probation.”
In the spring of last year, it was revealed that Kyri Walker, 21, and Lamar Smith, 24, collaborated as a duo on the Magnificent Mile. Their operation involved unauthorized transfers of substantial amounts of money through banking apps, all of which took place outside the Nike Store located at 669 North Michigan.
On March 20th, a resident of Gold Coast, aged 20, reported to the police that two men had snatched his phone while he was using the Chase app outside the Nike Store. According to a report by the CPD, Smith prevented the victim from retrieving his phone, while Walker proceeded to transfer $500 from the victim’s bank account.
Smith and Walker teamed up with another individual to target a 37-year-old man in Uptown on April 6, according to prosecutors. The victim reported to the police that he was approached by three men who asked him for donations while he was walking. He agreed to transfer $5 to their cause, but the situation took a turn when Walker forcefully took away his phone after he unlocked the Bank of America app. Walker then proceeded to transfer $2,000 from the man’s account to an account under a woman’s name, as stated in his CPD arrest report.
The second victim informed the police that he was still receiving text messages from the robbers, who were mocking him for being deceived.
The victims were able to identify Walker in photo line-ups, leading detectives to share his information with the police officers in the Lakeview-based Town Hall (19th) District. This was done because similar crimes had been reported along the Clark Street bar strip in Wrigleyville. Weeks later, officers who were assigned to the area for a Cubs game were able to apprehend Walker.
In a favorable agreement with prosecutors, Walker managed to have the most serious charges against him, including four counts of robbery, dropped. Instead, he pleaded guilty to two counts of felony theft by deception.
Judge Shelley Sutker-Dermer granted Walker a “second-chance probation” sentence. As per court records, Walker is required to obtain a GED and contribute 40 hours towards community service. If Walker successfully completes his probation, he will not have a conviction on his record and may have the opportunity to have the matter expunged.
Smith is still battling the charges brought against him.