Prosecutors: Atlanta kids got donations for notorious gang

0

WOODSTOCK, Ga. — Prosecutors in Georgia have charged 14 people with recruiting poor children from Atlanta to sell candy and food door-to-door in the Atlanta suburbs, alleging that it was all a scheme to funnel money to a notorious U.S. street gang.

The group set up a fake charity — Georgia Peach Youth Club of America Inc. — to fund the gang’s criminal enterprises, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said.

Carr, a Republican, said the indictment names 14 people on charges including human trafficking, racketeering, criminal street gang activity, charity fraud, and money laundering. His statement Tuesday says money raised through the charity funded operations of the Nine Trey Bloods, a subset of the Los Angeles-based United Blood Nation.

The indictment, returned by a grand jury in Cherokee County, a suburban area northwest of Atlanta where prosecutors say the children were taken to knock on doors, makes no mention of how much money the children allegedly raised through the candy sales.

The Georgia Peach Youth Club describes itself on Facebook as a work and recreational program for teens against gun violence and drugs. A phone number listed for the program was not working Wednesday, and the group did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The Nine Trey Bloods initially formed in New York City’s Riker’s Island jail in the early 1970s, according to the FBI.

No posts to display