Texas man pleads guilty in $1 million kickback scheme

TOPEKA, KAN. – A man pleaded guilty to taking part in a $1 million fraudulent customer refund scheme involving more than a dozen defendants. 

According to court documents, Mercele Brooks, 28, of Harker Heights, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of accessory after the fact to laundering monetary instruments. 

Kanesha Mercer, Darius Polite, Rudy Hunt, and Veronica Kilman were employees at Advanced Call Center Technologies ("ACCT") in Junction City, Kansas. Their duties included processing customer refunds for AT&T Digital Life home security systems. Between December 2016 and August 2018, they processed fraudulent refund claims totaling approximately $1 million. They deposited the funds into the bank accounts of co-conspirators who would return a portion of the money to the employees. Accounts owned or controlled by Brooks received $100,317 in wire fraud proceeds.

 “This type of fraud, put simply is greed driven.  These crimes are not victimless, as ultimately costs are passed on to the consumer.  This investigation determined that multiple bad actors took part in this scheme, and this plea demonstrates that these individuals are being held accountable for their actions,” said Stephen A. Cyrus, FBI Kansas City Special Agent in Charge.

Kanesha Mercer, 35, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced to 14 months in prison. 

Kory Epps Jr., 25, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and was sentenced to 10 months in prison. 

Caylon McCormick pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and was sentenced to six months in prison.

Darius Polite, 30, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and is awaiting sentencing.

Anthony Charite, 33, Kiondra Armstrong, 30, Fontelle Jolly, 26, Veronica Kilman, 33, Rudy Hunt, 32, and Sharika Pope, 42, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. 

Erica Jackson, 41, and Shunqureau Gilbert, 30, pleaded guilty to laundering of monetary instruments.  

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Skip Jacobs is prosecuting the case. 

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