GREEN BAY, Wis. — Two more men have been convicted for their roles in an organized fraud scheme that investigators say stole nearly $200,000 from Fox Communities Credit Union and led to criminal charges against 17 people.
Demetrius King Jr., 27, of Green Bay, pleaded no contest July 14 to organizing financial crimes as a repeat offender. Charges of fraud against a financial institution and money laundering were dismissed under a plea agreement, court records cited by the Green Bay Press-Gazette show.
Cornelius Steele, 29, of Bellevue, pleaded no contest July 13 to felony counts of fraud against a financial institution involving between $500 and $10,000 and money laundering involving between $5,000 and $10,000, both as a party to a crime, according to the newspaper.
King is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 1 and faces up to 10 years in prison. Steele was sentenced to three years of probation.
The convictions are the third and fourth in the case, the Press-Gazette reported.
How Scheme Worked
According to charging documents cited by the newspaper, investigators said the scheme relied on callers posing as Fox Communities Credit Union fraud department employees. Victims were told suspicious activity had been detected on their accounts and were persuaded to provide online banking usernames and authentication codes, allowing scammers to gain access to their accounts.
Once inside the accounts, investigators said, funds were transferred into newly opened accounts controlled by so-called “money mules,” who quickly withdrew or transferred the money before turning much of it over to organizers of the scheme.
Court documents cited by the Press-Gazette allege King told investigators he was recruited through Facebook by Deandre Mackontee, 26, of Allouez, and later recruited Steele and at least one other participant.
Defendant Opened CU Account
Investigators said King opened a Fox Communities Credit Union checking account on Oct. 23, 2024. The following day, more than $3,500 was transferred from a victim’s account into King’s account before being withdrawn, according to the complaint.
Steele allegedly opened an account on Oct. 24, 2024, received more than $7,000 in fraudulent transfers over two days and withdrew more than $6,000, the newspaper reported. Court records state Steele told investigators he did not know where the money originated but had been told it was “a quick way” to make money.
‘Sophisticated Operation’
According to the Press-Gazette, Brown County investigators described the operation as a sophisticated criminal enterprise that exploited weaknesses in financial institutions through coordinated social engineering and money laundering tactics.
Two other defendants, Leona Dixon of Keshena and Shayne Rudolph of Green Bay, have also been convicted after pleading no contest to fraud and money laundering charges. Both were sentenced to two years in prison followed by two years of extended supervision, according to the newspaper.
