Georgia Woman Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Identity Fraud

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Loganville, Georgia, woman pleaded guilty today to her role in a bank fraud conspiracy.

According to court documents, Brianna Mills, 28, conspired with Stanley Desirade, Terrell Hale, and others to transfer, possess, and use wrongfully obtained identifying information— namely, names, social security numbers, dates of birth, and addresses—to make fraudulent withdrawals. From December 2015 to March 2016, Mills was a bank teller at Capital One Bank. Mills used her position as a bank teller to steal customer account information. Mills passed that information to her then-boyfriend, Desirade, who used that information to create fraudulent driver’s licenses. Those licenses were, in turn, used to fraudulently withdraw money from the customers’ accounts at Capital One Bank. The conspiracy attempted to steal almost $1.7 million and successfully defrauded banks of at least $650,000.

Mills is scheduled to be sentenced on August 25. She faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Mills is the second defendant in this case to plead guilty. Terrell Hale pled guilty on April 14, 2023 and will be sentenced on July 21, 2023. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division; Damon E. Wood, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Matthew Stohler, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hood is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:23-cr-40.