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United States of America v. Elijah D. Brown
Date: 02-14-2025
Case Number: 22-CR-226
Judge: S. Maurice Hicks, Jr.
Court: The United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana (Caddo Parish)
Plaintiff's Attorney: The United States Attorney’s Office for Shreveport
Defendant's Attorney: Click Here For The Best Shreveport, Louisiana Criminal Defense Lawyer Directory
Description:
Defendant Convicted in Bank Fraud Conspiracy Case Receives Sentence in Federal Court
Elijah D. Brown, 24, was indicted for conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
In April 2024, a federal grand jury in Shreveport returned an indictment charging 21 defendants in connection with a federal bank fraud case in the Shreveport area. All of those defendants have now entered guilty pleas or entered into pretrial diversion agreements. A summary of the 20 remaining defendants and their status is as follows:
Defendant Name
Conviction/Sentence
Destane Glass, 23,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentencing set for 3/27/25
Sharmaine Jackson, 26,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentencing set for 6/5/2025
ZarRajah Z. Watkins, 23,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentencing set for 4/24/2025
Arazhia R. Gully, 24,
Bossier City, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentencing set for 2/20/2025
Eric D. Loud, 24,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentencing set for 3/20/2025
Maya L. Green, 24,
Bossier City, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentencing set for 3/27/2025
Olivia M. Deboe, 23,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentenced to 3 years supervised probation and ordered to pay $34,261.81 in restitution
Donte N. Larrimore, 24,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentenced to 3 years supervised probation
Shamaya S. Pouncy, 27,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentenced to 9 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $9,317.50
Precious Wilbert, 25,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentenced to 3 years of supervised probation
Cynthia R. Bryant, 22,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentencing set for 4/10/2025
Trameka McGinty, 25,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentencing set for 3/27/2025
Shaquentalas B. McGinty,
26, Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentencing set for 6/5/25
Javonte J. Lejay, 28,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentencing set for 3/27/2025
Octavia L. Mitchell, 33,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentencing set for 3/20/2025
Shmarrian J. Taylor, 27,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentencing set for 3/27/2025
Rakeydra S. Shepherd, 28,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to possession of a counterfeit security
Sentencing set for 2/20/2025
Tina Marie Bryant, 43,
Shreveport, LA
Entered into Pretrial Diversion Agreement
Lakysa S. Barfield, 26,
Shreveport, LA
Entered into Pretrial Diversion Agreement
Kyra D. Washington-Bates,
24, Shreveport, LA
Entered into Pretrial Diversion Agreement
This scheme to defraud began in January 2021 and continued through October 31, 2022. The defendants admitted to their involvement in the conspiracy to defraud banks including USAA Savings Bank ("USAA Bankâ€), Navy Federal Credit Union, JP Morgan Chase Bank, Barksdale Federal Credit Union and Bank of America.
Arazhiah Gully, Maya Green and ZarRajah Watkins worked at Teleperformance, a multinational company that provided business services including a call center in Shreveport. The call center provided customer service to USAA Bank. Gully, Green and Watkins all had access to USAA Bank customer information including names of customers, their ages, account balances, and account numbers. These three defendants admitted to conspiring with Destane Glass, Elijah Brown, Sharmaine Jackson, and others to defraud USAA Bank. Gully, Green and Watkins improperly obtained account holder information so that it could be used by others to create counterfeit USAA Bank checks, and they were paid to provide the account information. Counterfeit checks traced to accounts that these defendants accessed totaled over $4 million.
Glass, Brown and Jackson used social media and other methods to recruit individuals in the Shreveport area with bank accounts to use their accounts to deposit the counterfeit checks to make money. The co-defendants involved in the scheme would open accounts at various financial institutions under their own names and then provide their access cards and login information to other co-defendants. Counterfeit checks were then provided to these co-defendants to be deposited into their own personal bank accounts, and they were instructed to withdraw the funds in various ways, including making withdrawals at local casinos, through ATMs, Apple Cash payments, and PayPal payments. After withdrawing the money, the defendants would meet Glass, Brown, Jackson and other co-defendants in various places, including casino parking lots, and give the funds to them, with a portion of the proceeds going to the one who made the withdrawal. Activity in the casinos were captured by the surveillance cameras at those locations which helped solve the case. The counterfeit checks that were deposited were in varying amounts ranging from $5,000 to $40,000.
"The defendants involved in this conspiracy shamelessly targeted vulnerable elderly victims, stealing their personal identifying and bank account information and using it to take advantage of them,†said Acting U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook. "We urge everyone to make a habit of checking your bank accounts regularly to avoid becoming a victim of this type of fraud. If you see suspicious transactions, report it to your bank immediately.â€
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Louisiana State Police and Shreveport Police Department and was prosecuted by Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook.
Shreveport, Louisiana criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Defendant Convicted in Bank Fraud Conspiracy Case Receives Sentence in Federal Court
Elijah D. Brown, 24, was indicted for conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
In April 2024, a federal grand jury in Shreveport returned an indictment charging 21 defendants in connection with a federal bank fraud case in the Shreveport area. All of those defendants have now entered guilty pleas or entered into pretrial diversion agreements. A summary of the 20 remaining defendants and their status is as follows:
Defendant Name
Conviction/Sentence
Destane Glass, 23,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentencing set for 3/27/25
Sharmaine Jackson, 26,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentencing set for 6/5/2025
ZarRajah Z. Watkins, 23,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentencing set for 4/24/2025
Arazhia R. Gully, 24,
Bossier City, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentencing set for 2/20/2025
Eric D. Loud, 24,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentencing set for 3/20/2025
Maya L. Green, 24,
Bossier City, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentencing set for 3/27/2025
Olivia M. Deboe, 23,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentenced to 3 years supervised probation and ordered to pay $34,261.81 in restitution
Donte N. Larrimore, 24,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentenced to 3 years supervised probation
Shamaya S. Pouncy, 27,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentenced to 9 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $9,317.50
Precious Wilbert, 25,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentenced to 3 years of supervised probation
Cynthia R. Bryant, 22,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentencing set for 4/10/2025
Trameka McGinty, 25,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentencing set for 3/27/2025
Shaquentalas B. McGinty,
26, Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentencing set for 6/5/25
Javonte J. Lejay, 28,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentencing set for 3/27/2025
Octavia L. Mitchell, 33,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentencing set for 3/20/2025
Shmarrian J. Taylor, 27,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud
Sentencing set for 3/27/2025
Rakeydra S. Shepherd, 28,
Shreveport, LA
Pleaded guilty to possession of a counterfeit security
Sentencing set for 2/20/2025
Tina Marie Bryant, 43,
Shreveport, LA
Entered into Pretrial Diversion Agreement
Lakysa S. Barfield, 26,
Shreveport, LA
Entered into Pretrial Diversion Agreement
Kyra D. Washington-Bates,
24, Shreveport, LA
Entered into Pretrial Diversion Agreement
This scheme to defraud began in January 2021 and continued through October 31, 2022. The defendants admitted to their involvement in the conspiracy to defraud banks including USAA Savings Bank ("USAA Bankâ€), Navy Federal Credit Union, JP Morgan Chase Bank, Barksdale Federal Credit Union and Bank of America.
Arazhiah Gully, Maya Green and ZarRajah Watkins worked at Teleperformance, a multinational company that provided business services including a call center in Shreveport. The call center provided customer service to USAA Bank. Gully, Green and Watkins all had access to USAA Bank customer information including names of customers, their ages, account balances, and account numbers. These three defendants admitted to conspiring with Destane Glass, Elijah Brown, Sharmaine Jackson, and others to defraud USAA Bank. Gully, Green and Watkins improperly obtained account holder information so that it could be used by others to create counterfeit USAA Bank checks, and they were paid to provide the account information. Counterfeit checks traced to accounts that these defendants accessed totaled over $4 million.
Glass, Brown and Jackson used social media and other methods to recruit individuals in the Shreveport area with bank accounts to use their accounts to deposit the counterfeit checks to make money. The co-defendants involved in the scheme would open accounts at various financial institutions under their own names and then provide their access cards and login information to other co-defendants. Counterfeit checks were then provided to these co-defendants to be deposited into their own personal bank accounts, and they were instructed to withdraw the funds in various ways, including making withdrawals at local casinos, through ATMs, Apple Cash payments, and PayPal payments. After withdrawing the money, the defendants would meet Glass, Brown, Jackson and other co-defendants in various places, including casino parking lots, and give the funds to them, with a portion of the proceeds going to the one who made the withdrawal. Activity in the casinos were captured by the surveillance cameras at those locations which helped solve the case. The counterfeit checks that were deposited were in varying amounts ranging from $5,000 to $40,000.
"The defendants involved in this conspiracy shamelessly targeted vulnerable elderly victims, stealing their personal identifying and bank account information and using it to take advantage of them,†said Acting U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook. "We urge everyone to make a habit of checking your bank accounts regularly to avoid becoming a victim of this type of fraud. If you see suspicious transactions, report it to your bank immediately.â€
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Louisiana State Police and Shreveport Police Department and was prosecuted by Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook.
Outcome:
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments:
About This Case
What was the outcome of United States of America v. Elijah D. Brown?
The outcome was:
Which court heard United States of America v. Elijah D. Brown?
This case was heard in The United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana (Caddo Parish), LA. The presiding judge was S. Maurice Hicks, Jr..
Who were the attorneys in United States of America v. Elijah D. Brown?
Plaintiff's attorney: The United States Attorney’s Office for Shreveport. Defendant's attorney: Click Here For The Best Shreveport, Louisiana Criminal Defense Lawyer Directory.
When was United States of America v. Elijah D. Brown decided?
This case was decided on February 14, 2025.