Payment Processing Broker Pleads Guilty to Fraudulent Bank Debits

An Oregon man who worked as a payment processing broker pleaded guilty today to wire fraud for his role in using fraudulent, unauthorized debits to steal money from victims' bank accounts.

According to court documents, Jeremy Todd Briley, 46, of Oregon, worked as a payment processing broker. Acting on behalf of clients (merchants), Briley identified payment processors in the United States for his clients to use in processing charges. Briley's two largest clients were sham companies that falsely represented that they provided online marketing services to businesses. Instead, they stole from victims by fraudulently debiting their bank accounts, causing over $14 million in unauthorized debits and attempted debits.

From February 2017 to December 2023, Briley obtained and maintained payment processing relationships for those sham companies so that they could process fraudulent debits, knowing that the sham companies were fraudulently debiting bank accounts. Despite repeatedly receiving information that the debits processed on behalf of the sham companies were not authorized by the victims, Briley concealed the fraudulent activities of the sham companies in various ways, and he arranged for a payment processor to deceive banks by manipulating return rates on the fraudulent debits.

Briley pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 20 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald; U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida; Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Criminal Investigations Group; and Special Agent in Charge Vincent R. Zehme of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), Chicago Region made the announcement.

The USPIS and FDIC-OIG are investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Daniel Zytnick of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff for the Southern District of Florida is handling forfeiture.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the Fraud Division. The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department's work to combat fraud supports President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.