MOBILE, Ala. – Ten people have been sentenced in federal court in Mobile for their involvement in an organized bank fraud and identity theft scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama. The scheme, which took place between November 2021 and March 2024, involved stealing checks from the mail, altering them with victim business and individual information, and depositing them into various bank accounts.
The masterminds behind the scheme were identified as 21-year-old Ralph Tyrone Griffin Jr. of Mobile and 24-year-old Jaden Travier Lollie of Bremerton, Washington. They recruited accomplices with bank accounts to provide their account details, debit cards, and other support to facilitate the fraud. The total losses amounted to over $49,000, with intended losses exceeding $250,000.
Bank surveillance footage captured Griffin and his accomplices making multiple fraudulent transactions in Mobile using the counterfeit checks. During the investigation, law enforcement seized laptops, printers, cellphones, counterfeit and stolen checks, and debit cards belonging to others during search warrants executed at the defendants’ residences. The evidence included incriminating text messages and social media communications among the group.
U.S. District Judge Kristi K. DuBose sentenced Lollie to 42 months in federal prison and Griffin to 18 months, with both to serve five years of supervised release afterward. The judge also ordered them to pay $49,201 in restitution to the victims.
The other co-defendants and their sentences were as follows:
- Jhykez Labarron Adams, 20, (57 months) for possession of an illegal machine gun during arrest;
- Jamarion Ant’Jwan Licharles Adams, 23, (25 months);
- Tamarcus Santreal Napier, 24, (25 months);
- Noraa Loisann Bracy, 24, (25 months);
- Reginald Maurice Spencer Jr., 25, (18 months);
- Khadijah Lashay Kimbrough, 23, (nine months);
- Jamaal Isiah Kidd, 22, (one day);
- Kareer Dewayne Morris, 21, (time served)
All co-defendants will serve supervised release and are required to pay restitution and special assessments.
