Grady Judd: 8 arrested in cross-country multi-million-dollar fraud investigation

Bank fraud crime ring busted

FOX 13's Carla Bayron explains how a bank fraud scheme out of Polk County was dismantled and how far the crime reached across the U.S.

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - A multi-million-dollar fraud investigation that affected 235 victims nationwide has led to the arrests of eight suspects, and investigators say hundreds more suspects were involved.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier gave details on "Operation Teller to Telegram" at a news conference on Wednesday.

The backstory:

So far, eight suspects from Florida and other states have been charged with fraud and racketeering-related felonies in connection with more than $8.8 million in stolen funds, mainly targeting seniors.

At a news conference on Wednesday, investigators said the case began in April 2023 when Synchrony banks noticed suspicious activity linked to an account opened by Michael Nevarez, 27, of Lakeland.

The sheriff's office said the bank noticed that the account had $250,000 deposited into it, and the money was quickly dispersed to other accounts:

• $25,000 was transferred to Nevarez’s personal account with Suncoast Credit Union and soon withdrawn in cash.
• $54,710.98 was sent to several accounts linked to Roshado Durrant, 26, of Lakeland.
• $763.11 was sent to an account belonging to Hassan Phillips, 23, of Maryland.
• The remaining money was transferred to Nevarez’s other personal accounts.
• Detectives also said Kevin Clayton, 25, of Lakeland, opened a Synchrony bank account around the same time as Nevarez and was also receiving transfers ranging from $15,000 to $54,000.

As for how the suspects allegedly got the stolen funds, Judd said three M&T Bank employees worked together: Antonio Penn, 32, would ask longtime employees Barbara Frazee, 65, and Camala Shafer, 67, for access to customer data.

From there, Penn would send account details and login credentials to his college football teammate from West Virginia, Okeroghene Akushe, who sold the information on an encrypted mobile app called Telegram, according to Judd.

Investigators also said that despite the large amount of money that was stolen, the suspected masterminds – Penn and Akushe – profited a tiny percentage of the funds: roughly $78,000.

What they're saying:

"So you have Telegram, Tele-crook, and now we’re telling everybody there’s Tele-jail," Judd said during Wednesday's news conference.

Pictured: Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd speaks at a news conference on July 23, 2025.

Uthmeier focused a large portion of his message Wednesday on crooks who target seniors.

"You’ve got to be a pretty weak and pathetic person to want to cheat and scam our seniors and their hard-earned retirement," Uthmeier said.

Pictured: Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier speaks at a news conference on July 23, 2025.

What's next:

The suspects face the following charges:

• Antonio Penn, of Maryland: Racketeering, conspiracy to commit RICO, organized fraud, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, criminal use of personal identification information, access computer without authorization
• Okeroghene Akushe, of Missouri: Racketeering, conspiracy to commit RICO, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, criminal use of personal identification information
• Barbara Frazee, of West Virginia: Conspiracy to commit RICO, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, access computer without authorization
• Camala Shafer, of Maryland: Access computer without authorization
• Michael Nevarez, of Lakeland: Racketeering, conspiracy to commit RICO, organized fraud, grand theft more than 20k, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, criminal use of personal identification information
• Roshado Durrant, of Lakeland: Racketeering, conspiracy to commit RICO (2 counts), organized fraud, grand theft more than 20k (2 counts), conspiracy to commit grand theft more than 20k, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, criminal use of personal identification information (2 counts)
• Hassan Phillips, of Maryland: Racketeering, conspiracy to commit RICO, organized fraud, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, criminal use of personal identification information
• Kevin Clayton, of Lakeland: Racketeering, conspiracy to commit RICO, organized fraud, grand theft more than 20k, grand theft more than $750.00, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, criminal use of personal identification information