Five Fresno residents have pleaded guilty to participating in a yearlong bank fraud scheme that sought to defraud banks of $1 million, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced Monday.

Zorian Temple, 25, pleaded guilty Monday to bank fraud. Davonntae Barfield, 31; Zion Brewer, 40; and Nyric Hinton, 28, pleaded guilty Aug. 17, while Harry Cooper Neal, 30, pleaded guilty Aug. 31.

According to court records, Brewer, a U.S. Postal Service employee, stole checks from the mail between 2022 and 2023 and provided them to the other defendants.

The defendants then recruited bank account holders, or used their own accounts, to deposit the stolen checks and withdraw the proceeds.

Prosecutors said the defendants met each other and primarily coordinated the scheme through Facebook and Facebook Messenger.

The stolen checks had a combined face value of more than $1 million. However, the actual loss to banks totaled a few hundred thousand dollars because banks detected most of the stolen checks and stopped payment before the defendants could withdraw the money.

U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston is scheduled to sentence Neal on Nov. 30. Barfield, Brewer, and Hinton are scheduled for sentencing Dec. 7, while Temple is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 11, 2027.

Each defendant faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.

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