SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Deaviyon Rockett, 22, of Joplin, Missouri, is trading the streets for a federal cell after receiving a five-year and three-month sentence today for a brazen pair of fraud schemes totaling nearly $300,000. U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark didn’t show Rockett any leniency, also ordering him to cough up $260,000 in restitution to his victims.
Rockett pleaded guilty on April 5, 2023, to two counts of wire fraud, admitting he exploited the COVID-19 pandemic and vulnerable individuals for personal gain. The schemes included filing false applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans – a federal lifeline meant to keep businesses afloat – and a particularly slimy “transaction reversal” bank scam. The feds say Rockett wasn’t interested in saving anyone’s business; he was interested in lining his own pockets.
The PPP portion of the scheme saw Rockett submitting at least $119,262 in fraudulent loan applications between March 26 and May 17, 2021. He allegedly used the identities of others, fabricating business details, employee numbers, and salary information. Once the money hit the accounts – belonging to those whose identities he stole – Rockett drained it, spending it on things the PPP program explicitly forbade. The CARES Act was designed to provide emergency financial assistance, but Rockett treated it like a personal slush fund.
But the PPP fraud wasn’t enough for this hustler. Rockett also ran a “transaction reversal” scheme that targeted unsuspecting victims he contacted through social media. He pitched them a bogus business involving “transaction reversal,” promising to make them both money if they simply handed over their bank account information. The pitch? He’d deposit fraudulent checks from Coffeyville Community College and Santander Consumer USA, letting the funds temporarily appear in their accounts before he siphoned it all away.
The scam worked by exploiting the time lag between a deposit and the bank realizing a check is fake. Rockett would deposit the bad checks, then immediately withdraw the funds – sometimes emptying the entire account – before the bank could catch on. Law enforcement in Neosho and Jasper Counties started hearing from victims in August 2022, and the investigation quickly revealed a pattern of fraud totaling at least $176,007. He left a trail of empty accounts and broken trust in his wake.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney prosecuted the case, with investigative work led by the FBI and the Joplin, Mo., Police Department. This case sends a clear message: exploiting federal programs and preying on vulnerable citizens won’t pay. Rockett will have plenty of time to contemplate that behind bars. The Grimy Times will continue to follow federal cases like this and expose the criminals who think they can get away with it.
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Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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