Mobile Man Convicted at Trial for Participating in a Multimillion-Dollar Bank Fraud Conspiracy

MOBILE, AL - A federal jury convicted a Mobile man today for his participation in a multimillion-dollar bank fraud conspiracy involving theft of mail, identity theft, counterfeiting of stolen checks and money orders, and fraudulent financial transactions.

According to court documents and evidence presented at a four-day jury trial, Jacody Deauntae Roberts Williams, 22, participated in a nationwide fraud conspiracy that affected dozens of victims in multiple states between 2018 and 2025. The scheme involved widespread theft of mail, identity theft, counterfeiting of millions of dollars' worth of stolen checks and money orders, and fraudulent deposits of fictitious financial instruments into numerous bank accounts.

The jury reviewed evidence that on several occasions between 2022 and 2025, Williams and other members of the conspiracy fraudulently opened accounts at banks in Mobile and elsewhere to conduct sham deposits of counterfeit checks and money orders. For example, in October 2022, one of Williams's coconspirators, Patrick E. Williams, impersonated an identity-theft victim using a fake driver's license to open a bank account and conduct fraudulent deposits of altered money orders. Similarly, in March 2024, another of Williams's coconspirators, Shaquan L. Manassa, impersonated other victims, used fake driver's licenses, and opened a business bank account in the name of a bogus Alabama corporation to conduct fraudulent deposits of counterfeited money orders and checks.

In February 2025, Williams's coconspirator, Nicholas Jon Neil Robinson, was released from federal prison for a previous COVID-19 loan fraud conviction. The jury reviewed text messages and Instagram messages in which Williams and Robinson coordinated for Williams to fraudulently open a bank account to aid the scheme. On March 25, 2025, Williams and another coconspirator visited a bank branch in Mobile and lied to a teller on account-opening documentation. Williams then gave Robinson his debit card and bank account login information. On March 31, 2025, Robinson fraudulently deposited a $34,000 counterfeited check, altered to be made payable to Williams, into Williams's account. The bank refused the deposit. The original check had been stolen from the mail. The victim owner of the check testified at trial that the original check had been intended to pay school tuition for a special-needs child.

In April 2025, federal agents executed a search warrant at the home of one of Williams's coconspirators, Demetrius J. Manassa, in Atlanta, Georgia. During that search, agents seized dozens of counterfeited money orders and checks, including some bearing Williams's name. Agents also seized piles of stolen mail, several fake driver's licenses and credit cards, bogus Alabama corporation documents, a loaded firearm, a counterfeiting station, and other evidence of the scheme.

The jury reviewed dozens of incriminating Instagram messages that Williams exchanged with coconspirators. For example, in June 2023, a coconspirator asked Williams, "What type of scams y'all doing," to which Williams responded, "I gotta tell u in person." Later, in November 2023, Williams messaged a coconspirator asking to illegally purchase Percocet pills and stating that "the bank closed before we can get the money off this account." Between January and April 2024, Williams exchanged messages with a coconspirator about defrauding several banks, including Bank of America and Wells Fargo, offered to find banks for the coconspirator to defraud, and discussed purchasing a how-to guide for committing fraud referred to as a "method." Williams also shared a video of a stolen check being fraudulently "washed," shared images of himself and others possessing bulk cash, and discussed defrauding several banks with his coconspirators.

Chief United States District Judge Jeffrey U. Beaverstock will sentence Williams in October 2026. Williams faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, a five-year supervised release term, and an obligation to pay any victim restitution to be ordered by the court. The court previously sentenced two of Williams's coconspirators, Demetrius J. Manassa and Jarrod A. Ross, to 180 months and 84 months in prison, respectively, for their involvement in the scheme. Several other coconspirators are pending sentencing.

U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.

The United States Postal Inspection Service, the United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, the United States Secret Service, the Mobile Police Department, and the Jackson Police Department are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Roller and Michael Tabarrok are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.