Deaviyon Rockett, $300,000 Fraud Schemes, Missouri 2023

A Joplin man has been sentenced to federal prison for his role in two major fraud schemes, totaling nearly $300,000. Deaviyon Rockett, 22, was sentenced to five years and three months in federal prison without parole in U.S. District Court in Springfield, Missouri.

The court also ordered Rockett to pay $260,000 in restitution. Rockett pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud on April 5, 2023. He admitted to submitting at least $119,262 in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan applications under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Rockett also admitted to engaging in a $176,007 "transaction reversal" fraud scheme. In this scheme, Rockett contacted individuals through various media platforms, claiming to be part of a business that involved "transaction reversal," and asked them to give him their bank account information. He then deposited fraudulent checks written on the bank accounts of Coffeyville Community College and/or Santander Consumer USA into the victims’ accounts.

Once the checks were deposited, the bank would credit the account on a preliminary basis. However, those checks were not authorized by either entity and were not honored by either entity. Rockett immediately withdrew either the amount of the checks or completely emptied the bank account of all funds before the bank reversed the deposits. At least $176,007 in total was fraudulently withdrawn from the bank accounts of fraud victims.

The purpose of the CARES Act was to provide emergency financial assistance due to the economic impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act authorized the Small Business Administration to provide Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to small businesses to retain workers and maintain payroll.

Under the PPP, both the principal and interest on those loans were eligible for forgiveness. Rockett submitted six PPP loan applications using the names of other individuals that falsely claimed a business, its employees, and/or the amount of the salaries to be covered through these loans existed. In reality, those representations were entirely false.

Rockett then accessed the bank accounts of these individuals, withdrawing much of the money that had been fraudulently received, and used those funds for expenses that were unrelated to and prohibited to be used under the PPP loan program.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the FBI and the Joplin, Mo., Police Department. Rockett’s sentence and restitution order bring an end to this case, but highlight the ongoing threat of fraud and financial crimes in our communities.