DES MOINES, Iowa – Three of the leaders of a nationwide bank fraud and money laundering conspiracy were sentenced to a combined 421 months in federal prison.

According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, Thaddeus Jerome Lee, Latroy L. Currie, and Johnnie Lee Thomas, were the founders and leaders of bank fraud and money-laundering conspiracies that operated from California to Connecticut, and numerous states in between, including Iowa. Over the course of approximately two and a half years, they attempted to deposit at least $15 million in stolen checks at various financial institutions throughout the country. They successfully obtained at least $2.9 million in fraudulent proceeds.

Lee and Thomas lived in Arizona, and Currie lived in Indiana. They recruited dozens of individuals to commit acts of bank fraud and money laundering as part of the scheme. They obtained tens of millions of dollars’ worth of stolen checks; created many fake business entities to facilitate the fraud and laundering; and supervised many co-conspirators who went into banks and credit unions in several states, opened fraudulent checking accounts, and deposited the stolen checks. Lee, Thomas, and Currie laundered the proceeds of the stolen checks by withdrawing the funds from the fraudulently obtained accounts and sharing the proceeds with their co-conspirators. Lee was sentenced to 151 months’ imprisonment, Currie to 135 months’ imprisonment, and Thomas to 135 months’ imprisonment. After completing their terms of imprisonment, all three will be required to serve terms of supervised release—Lee and Currie will serve five-year terms, and Thomas will serve a three-year term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Eleven more co-conspirators have been sentenced on similar charges for their roles in the conspiracy. Tiarra Lenae Jones, was sentenced to a 96 month prison term, followed by a five-year term of supervised release; Stephen Rashad Haley, was sentenced to a 384 month prison term, followed by a five-year term of supervised release; Lovely Hall was sentenced to a 60 month prison term, followed by a three-year term of supervised release; Kila Wright was sentenced to a 54 month prison term, followed by a three-year term of supervised release; Kira Ashleigh Johnson, was sentenced to a 42 month prison term, followed by a three-year term of supervised release; John Ivory Winston, Jr. was sentenced to a 30 month prison term, followed by a three-year term of supervised release; Reanna R. Haymon was sentenced to a 12 months-and-one-day prison term, followed by a three-year term of supervised release; Shapara Monee Hunter, was sentenced to a 8 month prison term, followed by a two-year term of supervised release; Mario Ricardo Smith was sentenced to a 6 month prison term, followed by a three-year term of supervised release; Jazlinn Tapp, was sentenced to a 4 month prison term, followed by a three-year term of supervised release; and Somore Renee Hill, was sentenced to a 12 months-and-one-day prison term, followed by a three-year term of supervised release. Four more co-conspirators, Malik K. Marshal, Toni Lynette Renfroe, Carnell A. Thomas, Jr., and Erin R. Smith, are awaiting sentencing.

“A combined total of 421 months in prison for the leaders of this check fraud scheme should send a message about the seriousness of the crime,” said Special Agent in Charge William Steenson of IRS Criminal Investigation’s St. Louis Field Office. “Stealing checks, money laundering, and bank fraud…these are not victimless crimes. The sentences imposed are the result of IRS-CI’s commitment to identifying and investigating check fraud and working with other federal agencies to ensure the guilty are held accountable.”

The FBI stated “These defendants orchestrated a sophisticated illegal scheme to defraud businesses and our banking systems. This kind of criminal activity erodes public trust and undermines our nation’s economic security. The FBI will continue to work with our partners to aggressively investigate and hold accountable criminals who use deception and dishonesty to steal money from innocent victims and businesses. Financial fraud is not a victimless crime.”

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case with assistance from the Postal Inspection Service; Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; Homeland Security Investigations; and Secret Service, as well as with assistance from numerous state and local agencies.

Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph Lubben, Kristin Herrera, and Kyle Essley (former) prosecuted the case.