Raymond Mathews, Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud, Louisiana 2023

A federal judge in Baton Rouge has sentenced a South Florida man to 48 months in federal prison for his role in a bank fraud conspiracy that spanned several states, including Louisiana.

Raymond Mathews, 35, of Oakland Park, Florida, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Shelly D. Dick on Thursday for his conviction on conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

The court further sentenced Mathews to serve five years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment, ordered him to pay $224,068 in restitution, and ordered him to forfeit an additional $77,070.69 in proceeds from his crime.

The sentence stems from a lengthy federal, state, and local investigation that spanned numerous jurisdictions across several states and led to convictions against ten individuals for participating in a fraudulent scheme targeting victims in the Middle District of Louisiana.

According to court documents, from August 2016 through February 2017, the defendants, including Mathews, traveled through numerous states, including Louisiana, where they would break into unattended vehicles, steal the victims' licenses, checkbooks, and credit and debit cards, and then use the stolen items to conduct fraudulent financial transactions at the victims' banks.

Mathews admitted in connection with his guilty plea that he joined the group in August 2016 and participated in trips about once a month, through February 2017. He often assisted the other members of the conspiracy by filling out the stolen checks and forging the victims' signatures on the checks, so that other members of the conspiracy could take the checks and fraudulently cash them at the victims' banks.

Mathews is the eighth defendant from this investigation to be sentenced to federal prison as a result of his role in this scheme.

The status of the other charged defendants in this investigation is as follows:

• Michael D. Gibbs, age 28, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud, and is awaiting sentencing.
• Brandon J. Gassett, age 30, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud. On October 29, 2020, Gassett was sentenced to serve 84 months in federal prison and pay $224,068 in restitution.
• Frank Jackson, age 27, of Oakland Park, Florida, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud. On July 2, 2020, Green was sentenced to serve 33 months in federal prison.
• Geoffrey D. Green, age 37, of Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and is awaiting sentencing.
• Erin Brown, charged in Case 17-80-SDD-EWD, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. On September 26, 2018, Brown was sentenced to serve 24 months in federal prison.
• Natasha Hammett, charged in Case 17-81-BAJ-RLB, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. On September 20, 2018, Hammett was sentenced to serve 4 months in federal prison.
• Tina Eggleston, charged in Case 17-136-JWD-RLB, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. On August 23, 2018, Eggleston was sentenced to serve 10 months in federal prison and pay restitution, among other conditions.
• Johnny Jones, charged in Case 17-137-JWD-EWD, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and possession of unauthorized access devices.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdla/pr/eighth-defendant-sentenced-federal-prison-felony-lane-gang-type-criminal-activity-baton