Eight individuals from Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas have pleaded guilty to charges related to a bank fraud conspiracy involving hundreds of forged checks stolen from mail deposit boxes in the Oklahoma City area. The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, Robert J. Troester, announced the pleas.
According to court records, Derry Lee Davis obtained a stolen United States Postal Service (USPS) arrow key and used it with other conspirators to access mail deposit boxes across Oklahoma City starting in 2022. The group targeted checks found in stolen mail. Davis and Antajaun Monzelle Brown altered information on these checks so they could be deposited into accounts controlled by other members of the scheme.
The court documents state that Davis, Brown, Amaurion Ramone Norment, and others promoted their operation on social media platforms to recruit additional participants interested in making quick money. Dazjuan Jerae Demond Matthews, Amarion Adrione Whiteside, Olivernaesha Olieah Woods, Lorenzo Jones IV, and Matei Leann Bass agreed to allow forged checks to be deposited into their bank accounts in exchange for a share of the proceeds.
Brown, Davis, Norment, Matthews, and Whiteside each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and face up to 30 years in federal prison. Brown also pleaded guilty to an additional count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud related to a separate check fraud scheme in Illinois; he faces another potential 30-year sentence for that offense. Woods, Jones, and Bass pleaded guilty to forgery of securities charges with possible sentences of up to 10 years in federal prison.
“This case is the result of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service,” according to the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jackson D. Eldridge is prosecuting the case.
Reference is made to public filings for further details.
