Kh’lajuwon Amari Murat, Bank Fraud, Conspiracy, Identity Theft, Florida 2017

A group of seven individuals linked to Florida State University and the University of Florida have been charged with conspiracy, bank fraud, and identity theft.

According to the indictment, Kh’lajuwon Amari Murat, 21, of Miramar, Florida, and Kadeem Wysler Joseph Telfort, 22, of Miramar, Florida, who was a student and football player at the University of Florida, conspired to defraud federally insured financial institutions between July 1, 2017, and October 31, 2017.

The indictment alleges that Murat and Telfort used the Internet and text messaging to obtain credit card and debit card account numbers belonging to third parties, and then used those account numbers to deposit funds into the student accounts of FSU students, including Jada Tisean Barton, 22, of Titusville, Florida, Ariel Apperlyn Smith, 22, of Coral Springs, Florida, Deshauan Antwaniece Sanders, 22, of Miami, Florida, and Voshon Howard, 22, of Miramar, Florida.

The group allegedly communicated by cell phone and text messaging to plan the execution of the scheme. Murat requested student account numbers from FSU students and asked them to purchase merchandise from the FSU Bookstore using funds that he and Telfort had fraudulently deposited or would later deposit into those students’ accounts.

The indictment alleges that the group fraudulently obtained and attempted to obtain approximately $53,000 in funds to which they were not entitled. All defendants face a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud count, and Murat faces an additional 2-year mandatory minimum prison sentence, consecutive to any other sentence imposed, for each aggravated identity theft count.

The case resulted from an investigation by the Florida State University Police Department and the United States Secret Service. Assistant United States Attorney Justin M. Keen is prosecuting the case. The trial is scheduled for August 17, 2020.