
Check photo by Money Knack on unsplash.com
Written by Dylan Gonzales
Acting U.S. Attorney Michelle Beckwith announced that Abreiana Rogers, a 29-year-old from Los Angeles, appeared in federal court in Fresno on Thursday in connection with an alleged bank fraud scheme targeting credit unions.
Rogers is one of six defendants accused of participating in the scheme, which attempted to defraud financial institutions of nearly $1 million.
The five co-defendants, Nyric Hinton, 26; Zion Brewer, 39; Zorian Temple, 23; Davonntae Barfield, 30; and Harry Cooper Neal, 29, are all from Fresno and made their initial court appearances in November 2024.
All six are charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Additionally, Hinton was charged with one count of bank fraud, Temple and Barfield were charged with two counts of bank fraud and Rogers was also charged with four counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Brewer, a U.S. Postal Service employee, is accused of stealing mail containing financial information to support the scheme.
According to court documents, the defendants allegedly used Facebook and Facebook Messenger to recruit individuals to provide access to their bank accounts between April 2022 and January 2023. They promised the account holders a cut of any fraudulent funds deposited into their accounts. Stolen and fraudulent checks were deposited, and the funds quickly withdrawn, according to the U.S. Attorney.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, FBI, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General and Fresno Police Department are investigating the case. Prosecutors state that if convicted, the defendants could face up to 30 years in prison and $250,000 in fines. A status conference is scheduled for June 4, 2025.