PHILADELPHIA—Nysare Alston, 25, Christopher Corley, 27, Hassan Corley, 27, and Kenneth Thomas, 24, all of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were charged by indictment, unsealed today, in an alleged robbery spree involving Philadelphia check cashing businesses, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The defendants are charged with Hobbs Act robbery and related weapons offenses.

According to the indictment, the defendants committed the following armed robberies: on February 15, 2014, the America’s Cash Express, located at 5045 Wayne Avenue, of more than $49,000; on July 12, 2014, the Diamond Check Cashing, located at 4261 Frankford Avenue, of approximately $34,000; on July 25, 2014, the Ace Check Cashing, located at 2557 W. Sterner Street, of approximately $10,000; on September 10, 2014, Don’s Check Cashing, located at 1202 E. Hunting Park Avenue, of approximately $31,000; and the attempted armed robbery, on August 2, 2014, of Ace Check Cashing, located at 4244 N. Broad Street.

If convicted of all charges, Alston and Thomas each face a mandatory minimum sentence of 82 years in prison; C. Corley faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 32 years in prison; H. Corley faces a mandatory minimum term of seven years in prison; plus fines, supervised release, and special assessments.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Yvonne Osirim.

An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.