A Texas man awaits sentencing after he pleaded guilty this week to federal charges linked to a two-year, million-dollar kickback scheme in Junction City.

Court officials say 28-year-old Mercele Brooks pleaded guilty to a single count of accessory after the fact to laundering monetary instruments linked to a fraudulent customer-refund scheme run by more than more than a dozen suspects. Prosecutors say Brooks and his three co-conspirators – all of whom worked at Junction City’s Advanced Call Center Technologies – to re-route customer refunds to their own accounts.  Their duties included processing customer refunds for AT&T Digital Life home security systems.

Brooks netted more than $100,000 in the scheme that ran between December 2016 and August 2018.

“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.

Other defendants include:

• 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.