Truist Insider and Postal Worker Sentenced in Fraud Ring By: Carter Pape November 20, 2025
- Key insight: The conspiracy relied on a "recruitment hierarchy" involving a Truist branch employee to force transactions through and a USPS worker to steal check data from the mail. - Supporting data: The eight sentenced individuals sought to defraud financial institutions of over $1 million and collectively owe Truist $390,000 in restitution. - Key insight: Evidence of the brazen scheme included incriminating texts, photos of cash, and one defendant wearing a custom diamond ring shaped like the Truist logo. Eight Georgia residents, including a former Truist Bank branch employee, have been sentenced to prison for a sophisticated check cashing and kickback scheme that utilized stolen check information from a former U.S. Postal Service employee and sought to defraud financial institutions of more than $1 million. The conspiracy, which operated from at least November 2021 until December 2022, centered on a Truist Bank insider to ensure fraudulent transactions were processed successfully at the expense of the bank. "Individuals who participate in check-cashing and kickback schemes will face imprisonment and other penalties," said William Keyes, U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, in a press release about the sentencing. Mariarlene Brown, 44, was an employee at a Truist Bank branch in Valdosta, Georgia, during the conspiracy, according to prosecutors. Brown, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, received a sentence to serve 33 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. As part of her plea agreement, Brown also agreed to an order barring her from future employment at any banks or credit unions. Brown used her knowledge as a Truist employee to assist co-conspirator William Allen Roberts in depositing fraudulent checks and ensuring he could withdraw cash from the accounts. Roberts paid her for the services.