Michele Beckwith Acting U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California
Abreiana Rogers, a 29-year-old resident of Los Angeles, appeared in federal court in Fresno to face charges related to her involvement in a bank fraud scheme. The scheme aimed to defraud credit unions of nearly $1 million, as announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith.
Rogers is one of six defendants involved in the case. Her co-defendants—Nyric Hinton, Zion Brewer, Zorian Temple, Davonntae Barfield, and Harry Cooper Neal—all from Fresno, made their initial court appearances in November 2024.
The defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Rogers faces additional charges including four counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Hinton is charged with one count of bank fraud while Temple and Barfield each face two counts.
Court documents reveal that between April 2022 and January 31, 2023, the group used Facebook platforms to recruit individuals with bank accounts. They promised these account holders a share of any fraudulent funds deposited into their accounts. The defendants then deposited stolen and fraudulent checks into these accounts. Brewer allegedly assisted by stealing mail containing financial information and sharing it with his associates.
Once the funds were deposited fraudulently, they were quickly withdrawn or transferred electronically by the defendants who then divided the proceeds among themselves and other accomplices. To avoid detection by financial institutions' fraud protection systems, they shared information about known vulnerabilities within those systems. Account holders were instructed to claim their accounts had been compromised if questioned about the deposits.
The investigation suggests that at least $1 million was attempted in fraudulent transactions using over 100 bank accounts resulting in hundreds of thousands being obtained from financial institutions.
This case results from an investigation conducted by several agencies including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation among others. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Spivak is leading the prosecution.
A status conference for this case is scheduled for June 4, 2025.
If found guilty, each defendant could face up to 30 years imprisonment along with a $250,000 fine for conspiracy to commit bank fraud or any individual count thereof. Rogers could also receive an additional mandatory two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft if convicted on that charge as well. Sentencing will ultimately be determined based on statutory factors and guidelines which consider various variables; however all charges remain allegations until proven beyond reasonable doubt.
