Fraud and Financial-Crime Prosecutions Continue During Federal Funding Lapse

OKLAHOMA CITY – During the lapse in government funding, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma continued to work to protect Oklahomans from financial harm. The cases below represent a portion of the sentencings finalized during this period in separate and unrelated cases involving bank fraud, forged checks, and theft of mail.

AARON D. JOHNSON, 43, of Oklahoma City, was sentenced to serve six months in federal prison, followed by 12 months of home confinement and 24 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $102,069.44 in restitution and a $100,000 fine for bank fraud. According to public records, from September 2017 through at least November 6, 2018, Johnson, who was President and CEO of Farmers Bank, used the bank’s operating account to pay for personal expenses, causing an overdraft in the bank’s operating account of approximately $200,000. Johnson then approved a modification to a loan, without approval from the bank’s board of directors, advancing $200,000 on the loan which he used to repay the overdraft he caused.

DEONTE MONTRELL HORNSBY, 28, of Oklahoma City, was sentenced to serve 21 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and possession of stolen mail. According to public records, between December 2024 and April 2025, Hornsby used a stolen United States Postal Service key to steal mail from mail deposit boxes in Oklahoma City.  Hornsby then fraudulently altered checks found in the stolen mail and deposited the altered checks into bank accounts owned by co-conspirators to obtain cash from banks. In all, Hornsby and the co-conspirators were responsible for $72,727.96 in losses.  

RAHBIN JOSEPH WARD, 27, of Oklahoma City, was sentenced to serve 12 months and one day in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $53,960 in restitution for conspiracy to commit bank fraud. According to public records, between May 2023 and June 2023, Ward and other co-conspirators obtained checks from stolen mail, fraudulently altered the information on the checks, and deposited the forged checks into Ward’s personal bank account.

These cases are the result of investigations by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of the Inspector General (FDIC-OIG) and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julia E. Barry and Jackson D. Eldridge prosecuted the cases.

Reference is made to public filings for additional information.