Acting United States Attorney Ellison C. Travis announced that Trisha Milstead, 53, from Newport, Tennessee, has pled guilty to wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson.
Milstead admitted to engaging in a fraudulent scheme between May 2024 and July 2024. The scheme involved defrauding two credit unions and three small businesses: a recreational vehicle seller in Tennessee, a used car dealership in North Carolina, and a new and used car dealership in Gonzales, Louisiana.
Milstead opened accounts online at a California-based financial institution and attempted to fund them through wire transfers from an account she falsely claimed to hold at another institution based in Mississippi. She was aware that no such account existed and the transfers were fraudulent. Before these institutions could reverse the transactions, Milstead accessed the first institution's online "bill payment" system to issue several large checks drawn on her accounts.
Among the fraudulent activities, Milstead used a check for $38,000 to acquire a Ford F-150 Raptor truck from a North Carolina dealership and another check for $49,044.42 to obtain a 2020 Cadillac XT5 luxury SUV from a dealership in Gonzales, Louisiana. Additionally, she issued a check for $35,350 attempting to purchase an RV from the Tennessee business.
The investigation into this matter was conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations and the Gonzales Police Department with assistance from Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Department and Rutherford County (North Carolina) Sheriff’s Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Alan A. Stevens.
