(NewsNation) — A federal grand jury has indicted 21 people in connection with a bank fraud investigation out of Shreveport, Louisiana.
The alleged fraud happened between Jan. 1, 2021, and Oct. 31, 2022, according to investigators.
The group is accused of using account information belonging mostly to elderly bank customers with large account balances, guided by the belief those customers would be less likely to check their accounts. The accused then made counterfeit checks and deposited them into online recruits’ bank accounts in exchange for money, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Western District of Louisiana.
The indictment, which a grand jury returned Thursday, alleges those charged fraudulently accessed money from institutions including USAA Savings Bank, Chase Bank, and Navy Federal Credit Union.
Four of the defendants are accused of working with employees at the Teleperformance Call Center in Shreveport to access USAA Bank customers’ account information, according to the news release.
They then used the account information to make counterfeit checks drawn on USAA Bank and recruited people willing to have counterfeit checks deposited into their bank accounts in exchange for money, investigators said.
Those charged include:
| Defendant Name | Charges |
| Destane Glass, 22, Shreveport, LA | Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud |
| Sharmaine Jackson, 25, Shreveport, LA | Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud |
| Elijah D. Brown, 24, Shreveport, LA | Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud |
| Eric D. Loud, 23, Shreveport, LA | Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud |
| Arazhia R. Gully, 23, Bossier City, LA | Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud |
| Zarrajah Z. Watkins, 22, Shreveport, LA | Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud |
| Maya L. Green, 23, Bossier City, LA | Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud Possession of a Counterfeit Security |
| Olivia Deboe, 23, Shreveport, LA | Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud Possession of a Counterfeit Security |
| Tina Marie Bryant, 42, Shreveport, LA | Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud Possession of a Counterfeit Security |
| Cynthia R. Bryant, 22, Shreveport, LA | Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud Possession of a Counterfeit Security |
| Trameka McGinty, 24, Shreveport, LA | Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud |
| Shaquentalas B. McGinty, 25, Shreveport, LA | Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud |
| Donte N. Larrimore, 24, Shreveport, LA | Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud |
| Javonte J. Lejay, 27, Shreveport, LA | Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud |
| Octavia L. Mitchell, 32, Shreveport, LA | Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud |
| Lakysa S. Barfield, 26, Shreveport, LA | Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud |
| Shmarrian J. Taylor, 26, Shreveport, LA | Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud |
| Shamaya S. Pouncy, 26, Shreveport, LA | Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud |
| Precious Wilbert, 24, Shreveport, LA | Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud Possession of a Counterfeit Security |
| Kyra D. Washington-Bates, 23, Shreveport, LA | Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud |
| Rakeydra S. Shepherd, 27, Shreveport, LA | Possession of a Counterfeit Security |