FRESNO - Abreiana Rogers, 29, of Los Angeles, made an initial appearance in federal court in Fresno Thursday for charges stemming from her participation in a year-long bank fraud scheme that sought to defraud credit unions of nearly $1 million, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.
Five co-defendants in the scheme first appeared in November 2024: Fresno residents Nyric Hinton, 26; Zion Brewer, 39; Zorian Temple, 23; Davonntae Barfield, 30; and Harry Cooper Neal, 29.
All six defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Rogers was also charged with four counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Hinton was charged with one count of bank fraud. Temple and Barfield were also each charged with two counts of bank fraud.
According to court documents, between April 2022 and Jan. 31, 2023, the defendants used Facebook and Facebook Messenger to recruit bank account holders, promising them a cut of any fraudulent funds deposited into their accounts. The defendants then used those individuals’ bank accounts to deposit stolen and fraudulent checks. Brewer, a U.S. Postal Service employee, assisted by stealing mail containing checks and other financial information and providing that information to his co-conspirators.
The defendants and others would then rapidly deplete the fraudulently deposited funds from the account holders’ accounts using electronic transfers and cash withdrawals. The defendants then shared the proceeds among themselves and other co-conspirators. To circumvent financial institutions’ fraud protection systems, the defendants shared information about known weaknesses in the systems. To conceal the fraud, the defendants instructed account holders to claim that their accounts had been compromised if contacted by the financial institutions about the fraudulent deposits.
The defendants allegedly attempted at least $1 million in fraudulent transactions with financial institutions, fraudulently used over 100 bank accounts, and obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars from the financial institutions.
The case is set for a status conference on June 4, 2025.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and any count of bank fraud. Rogers also faces a two-year mandatory consecutive prison sentence for aggravated identity theft if convicted. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after considering any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which consider many variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
