11 Sentenced In Scheme Targeting Credit Union Members’ Phones, Accounts
By CU Today Staff —
NORFOLK, Va.—Eleven people have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a fraud scheme in which victims in Virginia’s Hampton Roads area were tricked or intimidated into surrendering their mobile phones, giving the perpetrators access to their credit union accounts, federal prosecutors said.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, the scheme operated since at least January 2023 and targeted victims in public places. After gaining control of victims’ phones, participants accessed financial accounts and personal information and carried out unauthorized loan applications, disputes, transfers and withdrawals.
Steven Carter Jones III, 33, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, was the latest defendant sentenced, receiving three years in prison. Jones also pleaded guilty in a separate federal case to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 9, 2027.
The other defendants received sentences ranging from four months to three-and-a-half years. Rodney Demetrius Thornton, 40, received the longest sentence at three years and six months, followed by Jordan Pugh, 34, at three years and four months and Laterrance Octavia Parker Jr., 25, at three years and two months. Others pleaded guilty to wire fraud, bank fraud conspiracy or money laundering conspiracy charges.
The Justice Department said the scheme specifically targeted credit union members, although the announcement did not identify the affected credit unions or provide a total amount stolen. The defendants were sentenced between May and September following guilty pleas entered between December 2025 and April 2026.
Originally reported by CU Today.