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Joplin Man Sentenced for $300,000 CARES Act Fraud Schemes
A Joplin, Missouri man has been taken down for his role in two brazen fraud schemes, netting nearly $300,000 in ill-gotten gains.
Deaviyon Rockett, 22, of Joplin, was sentenced in federal court to five years and three months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Rockett to pay $260,000 in restitution for his crimes, which involved submitting at least $119,262 in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications and engaging in a $176,007 ‘transaction reversal’ fraud scheme.
According to court documents, Rockett submitted six PPP loan applications using the names of other individuals, falsely claiming 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.
The ‘transaction reversal’ scheme involved Rockett contacting numerous individuals, telling them he was part of a business that involved ‘transaction reversal.’ He convinced them to give him their bank account information, claiming he would make himself and the victim money by conducting these transactions on their bank account.
However, in reality, Rockett accessed the victims’ bank accounts to deposit fraudulent checks written on the bank accounts of Coffeyville Community College and/or Santander Consumer USA. 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, in some cases, completely emptied the bank account of all funds before the bank reversed the deposits.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the FBI and the Joplin, Mo., Police Department.
Deaviyon Rockett’s crimes are a stark reminder of the dangers of fraud and the importance of being vigilant in protecting against these types of schemes.
Rockett pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud on April 5, 2023. His sentence is a testament to the fact that those who engage in such activity will be held accountable for their actions.
The U.S. Department of Justice will continue to pursue those who would seek to defraud others, and we will not hesitate to bring those individuals to justice.
Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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