TYLER, Texas — Six people, including a woman from Tyler, face federal charges in a money laundering investigation, the U.S. Justice Department said Friday.
The indictment says the six defendants targeted elderly people to transfer money into their accounts while employed at call centers. The conspiracy began in 2012 and continued through 2019. Among the schemes the indictment said conspirators used were:
- The victim's Social Security number was suspended and required payment for reactivation
- The victim owed back taxes and required to pay the caller to prevent legal action
- The callers offered housing loan modifications, sometimes threatening to foreclose on the home if the loans were not modified
The indictment said the conspirators opened bank accounts under the name of fake companies to deposit the victims' money.
Overall, the Justice Department said there were 4,000 victims who paid $3.2 million to the conspirators.
The following defendants are charged with both money laundering conspiracy and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business:
- 51-year-old Tracey Lynn Brookshier of Tyler, TX
- 45-year-old Jeremy Christopher Jones of Kansas City, KS
- 69-year-old John Arthur Fuss of Wartrace, TN
- 26-year-old Perry Lewis Crenshaw Jr. of Pensacola, FL
- 39-year-old Mary Elizabeth Booth of Hammond, LA
- 37-year-old Ronnie Duane Booth of Hammond, LA
All six defendants could be sentenced up to 25 years.
