Five Fresno residents — Nyric Hinton, 26, Zion Brewer, 39, Zorian Temple, 23, Davonntae Barfield, 30, and Harry Cooper Neal, 29 — were charged in November 2024.
Hinton faces an additional bank fraud charge, while Temple and Barfield each face two counts of bank fraud.
Prosecutors say the defendants used Facebook and Facebook Messenger between April 2022 and Jan. 31, 2023, to recruit bank account holders, promising them a share of fraudulently deposited funds
The defendants then used those accounts to deposit stolen and fraudulent checks. Brewer, a U.S. Postal Service employee, allegedly stole mail containing checks and financial information, which he provided to his co-conspirators.
Authorities said the defendants rapidly withdrew the fraudulently deposited funds through electronic transfers and cash withdrawals, sharing the proceeds among themselves and others.
To evade fraud detection, they exchanged information on financial institutions’ security vulnerabilities and instructed account holders to claim their accounts had been compromised if contacted by the banks.
