Twelve Individuals Charged in $11 Million Stolen Treasury Check Conspiracy

NEWARK, N.J. – Twelve individuals have been charged for their roles in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud by depositing stolen checks and withdrawing the funds, Acting U.S. Attorney and Special Attorney Alina Habba announced.

“As alleged in the complaint, the Defendants deposited stolen checks into fraudulent bank accounts for their own personal gain, taking advantage of a COVID-19 pandemic relief program earmarked for struggling businesses.  Rooting out fraud on pandemic programs and holding the alleged perpetrators accountable continues to be a top priority of this office and our law enforcement partners.”

- Acting United States Attorney and Special Attorney Alina Habba

Wayne Bessant, 44, of Hamilton, New Jersey; Britany Brown, 39, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; John Gerard Ebert, 42, of Hamilton, New Jersey; Joseph Graves-Carmichael, 43, of Trenton, New Jersey; Andrew Hooper, 37, of New Brunswick, New Jersey; Thomas Lee, 55, of Beverly, New Jersey; Patricia Kearse, 46, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Clarence Semmon, 41, of Trenton, New Jersey; Ryan Small, 32, of Ewing, New Jersey; Dwayne Reddon, 39, of Trenton, New Jersey; Shabazz Rouzard, 33, of Ewing, New Jersey; and Raymond Wade, 42, of Morrisville, Pennsylvania,are charged by criminal complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Ten Defendants appeared on November 13 before Magistrate Judge James B. Clark, III in Newark Federal Court. One Defendant was already in custody on a state case and one Defendant remains at large.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From March 2023 through May 2025, the Defendants conspired to deposit stolen checks—including U.S. Department of Treasury Checks—at various banks in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The Defendants impersonated the businesses listed as payees on the stolen checks by acquiring business documents in the names of the payees. Once the Defendants acquired the fraudulent business documents, they used them to impersonate the victims and open fraudulent business bank accounts where they deposited the stolen checks. In total, the Defendants deposited or attempted to deposit approximately 84 Treasury checks, and 27 commercial checks totaling over $11 million and split the proceeds. Many of the Treasury checks were refunds issued under the Employee Retention Credit, a program the Internal Revenue Service created during the COVID-19 pandemic to encourage businesses to retain employees.

The bank fraud conspiracy is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and also carries a fine of up to $1,000,000.

“Just as the twelve subjects schemed and conspired to cheat the system by depositing stolen checks meant for COVID-19 pandemic relief efforts, the FBI and our federal partners worked together to follow the facts and evidence that would lead to this charge. This case is a textbook example of the partnerships we build to prevent fraud against the Government and protect taxpayers from fraud in any form,” said FBI Newark Special Agent in Charge, Stefanie Roddy.

“This investigation underscores HSI’s commitment to protecting the integrity of our nation’s financial system and ensuring that those who exploit COVID-19 relief programs are held accountable,” said HSI Newark Special Agent in Charge Michael S. McCarthy. “HSI will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to uncover complex schemes targeting American taxpayers and to relentlessly dismantle the criminal networks responsible, stripping them of their illicit gains.”

“COVID-19 relief programs, including the Employee Retention Credit, were implemented to help honest Americans keep their jobs during an unprecedented time of hardship.  Through deception and fraud, the Defendants allegedly stole over $11 million from the hardworking businesses these pandemic relief programs were meant to benefit,” stated Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan, IRS Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office.  “IRS-CI will continue to partner with our federal law enforcement colleagues to investigate those who defrauded pandemic relief programs and victimized those in need.”

Acting U.S. Attorney and Special Attorney Habba credited special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Newark-Trenton Resident Agency under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy; special agents with Homeland Security Investigations, Cherry Hill, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael S. McCarthy; special agents with the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office, under the direction of Jenifer L. Piovesan; special agents with Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Northeast Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Carpenter; special agents with the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Northeast Field Office, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Christopher Silvestro; special agents with the U.S. Air Force – Office of Special Investigations, Detachment 307, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Rebecca B. Bates; and postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Inspector in Charge, Christopher Nielson, with the investigation leading to today’s arrest. 

The District of New Jersey COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force is one of the five strike forces established throughout the United States by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud. The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors. The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aja Espinosa and Benjamin D. Bleiberg of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark. 

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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Defense counsel:

Bessant: David Bahuriak, Esq.

Brown: Wanda Akin, Esq.

Graves-Carmichael: Kevin Buchan, Esq.

Hooper: Jacqueline E. Cistaro, Esq.

Kearse: William Strazza, Esq.

Semmon: Tara Breslow-Testa, Esq.

Small: Laurie Fierro, Esq.

Reddon: Roberto Espinosa, Esq.

Rouzard: Kathleen Theurer-Platts, Esq.

Wade: Michael Pappa, Esq.