Man in federal prison for illegal firearms sentenced in bank fraud conspiracy

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – A Shreveport man named in a federal indictment along with 20 co-defendants was sentenced in federal court for conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

According to the acting United States Attorney for the Western District, Alexander Van Hook, Elijah D. Brown, 24, already serving a 42-month sentence for illegally possessing a machine gun, will extend his federal prison sentence by serving a consecutive 63-month sentence for the bank fraud charge.

Brown was also ordered to pay $1,254,790 in restitution related to the scheme from January 1, 2021, until about October 31, 2022. The defendant and others “known and unknown” knowingly and willfully conspired to commit bank fraud. Prosecutors allege that the defendants obtained money from financial institutions, including USAA Savings Bank (USAA Bank), Chase Bank, Barksdale Federal Credit Union, Bank of America, and Navy Federal Credit Union (Navy Federal).

Elijah D. Brown and three others worked with co-conspirators Arazhiah Gully, Maya Green, and ZarRajah Watkins, employees at the Teleperformance Call Center in Shreveport, to obtain account information for USAA Bank customers, most of whom were elderly.

The three defendants admitted to conspiring with Destane Glass, Elijah Brown, Sharmaine Jackson, and others to defraud USAA Bank by improperly obtaining account holder information. Others would use this to create counterfeit USAA Bank checks, and they were paid to provide the account information. Counterfeit checks traced to accounts these defendants accessed totaled over $4 million.

Brown, Glass, and Jackson used social media and other tools to recruit individuals in Shreveport with bank accounts willing to deposit counterfeit checks to make money.

Co-defendants would open accounts at various financial institutions in their names and then provide access cards and login info to other co-defendants. Once the counterfeit deposits were made, the conspirators were instructed to withdraw funds in various ways, including withdrawals at local casinos, ATMs, Apple Cash payments, PayPal payments, etc. Once funds were withdrawn, the defendants would meet Glass, Brown, Jackson, and others in different places, including casino parking lots, to give them the funds, with a portion going to the account holders who made the withdrawals. Casino activity was captured on surveillance cameras at the locations, which aided the investigation.

Counterfeit checks were deposited in amounts ranging from $5,000 – $40,000.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, “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. Sentencing set for 3/27/2025
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 3 years supervised probation and ordered to pay $34,261.81 in restitution
Precious Wilbert, 25, 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
Cynthia R. Bryant, 22, Shreveport, LA	Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Sentenced to 3 years of supervised probation
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

“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.”