Gwinnett Daily Post

LAWRENCEVILLE - Police have released the name of a suspect arrested Thursday in connection with a work-from-home scam used as a vehicle to steal money from three victims in September.

Police say Jerry Lee McIntosh, 54, of Alpharetta, was arrested at a hotel in Alpharetta between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. Thursday, one day after media across metro Atlanta released reports that included a description and a photograph.

McIntosh is wanted in Texas for forgery and in Tennessee for theft. He is also wanted by the U.S. Marshals Office in Virginia for violating probation from a bank fraud charge.

It is believed that McIntosh has been running from U.S. Marshals since since September 2004.

"He's a professional," said Gwinnett County Police Department spokesman Cpl. Darren Moloney. "Thanks to information relayed by the media, the Gwinnett County Police Department received a tip as to the location of the offender. One of the employees of the hotel in Alpharetta where McIntosh was staying recognized him."

Moloney said investigators arrived at the hotel Thursday afternoon and requested the assistance of the Alpharetta Police Department.

Alpharetta police secured McIntosh while he was attempting to escape out the patio door of his hotel room, and enough evidence was discovered in his possession to secure an arrest, Moloney said.

He was transported to Gwinnett the same day.

Moloney also said McIntosh had repainted his black Geo Prizm silver and replaced his Georgia plates with stolen Indiana plates.

McIntosh is charged in Gwinnett County with three counts of theft by deception. He is accused of using the work-from-home scam to steal more than $2,000 from three women who responded to a newspaper ad.

Police say McIntosh deposited counterfeit checks into their personal bank accounts, and asked them to withdraw the money so he could purchase supplies.

After that incident, he disappeared.

Moloney said he is charged in Gwinnett because he traveled to the county and deposited the counterfeit checks.

McIntosh is also wanted in Atlanta for a similar financial crime, and additional charges in Atlanta and Alpharetta are pending, including a charge in Alpharetta for having multiple stolen license plates in his possession.