Brothers Sentenced to 16 Years and 11 Years 8 Months in Decade-Long Bank Fraud and Identity Theft Scheme
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Alabama announced that two defendants were sentenced for their roles in a sophisticated, multimillion-dollar bank fraud and identity theft scheme that operated across the United States for nearly a decade. Vernon A. McCreath, 39, of Jersey City, New Jersey, was sentenced to 192 months in federal prison, and Mikhail C. McCreath, 35, of Miami, Florida, was sentenced to 140 months. Chief U.S. District Judge Jeffrey U. Beaverstock imposed the sentences.
According to court documents, from September 2015 through September 2025, the defendants and their coconspirators stole mail, counterfeited checks and money orders, and used stolen identities to open bank accounts and conduct fraudulent financial transactions nationwide. Victims included religious organizations, small businesses, charitable organizations, and public school systems. Both men had pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme, which involved bank fraud, identity theft, mail theft, and check counterfeiting.
In April 2025, agents searched the Atlanta-area residence of a primary coconspirator, Demetrius J. Manassa, recovering dozens of stolen and counterfeit checks and money orders, fraudulent identification documents, stolen mail, check-counterfeiting equipment, printers, blank check stock, a loaded Glock pistol, and ammunition. Fingerprint analysis linked Vernon A. McCreath to stolen postal money orders recovered in the search. Hundreds of Telegram messages on Manassa's phones contained stolen personal information, and investigators identified Mikhail C. McCreath's fingerprint in an image depicting a fraudulent deposit of approximately $1.3 million. One of Vernon A. McCreath's Telegram usernames was 'IDoBankFraudd.'
The court ordered the defendants to pay $687,259.04 in restitution, and both will serve five-year terms of supervised release after prison. Coconspirators previously sentenced include Demetrius J. Manassa (180 months), Shaquan L. Manassa (60 months), Jarrod A. Ross (84 months), Khashawn D. Sidberry (90 months), and Terran E. Walker (60 months), with two others awaiting sentencing.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General investigated the case, with substantial assistance from the U.S. Secret Service and other agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Roller prosecuted the case. (Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Alabama)
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Alabama
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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