New Brunswick Man Part Of Statewide Ring That Stole Pandemic Relief Money From The IRS

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — Twelve people across New Jersey and Philadelphia were part of a bank fraud ring that targeted IRS checks, and one of them is from New Brunswick, acting U.S. Attorney and Special Attorney Alina Habba announced Nov. 20.

The ring operated by depositing stolen checks and withdrawing the funds. The New Brunswick resident is Andrew Hooper, 37. Men and women from Ewing, Trenton, Hamilton, Philadelphia and Morrisville, PA were all part of the ring, said federal prosecutors.

Prosecutors say that from March 2023 through May 2025, the group deposited stolen checks — including U.S. Department of Treasury checks — at various banks in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. They impersonated the businesses listed as payees on the stolen checks by acquiring business documents with the names of those businesses.

In total, the ring stole approximately 84 U.S. Treasury checks, and 27 commercial checks totaling more than $11 million, said Habba. Many of the U.S. Treasury checks were refunds issued under the Employee Retention Credit, a program the IRS created during the COVID-19 pandemic to encourage businesses to retain employees.

The ring opened fraudulent business bank accounts where they deposited the stolen checks.

The ring members split the $11 million in proceeds.

Here are all 12 ring members charged. They all are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud:

• Wayne Bessant, 44, of Hamilton, New Jersey
• Britany Brown, 39, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• John Gerard Ebert, 42, of Hamilton, New Jersey
• Joseph Graves-Carmichael, 43, of Trenton, New Jersey
• Andrew Hooper, 37, of New Brunswick, New Jersey
• Thomas Lee, 55, of Beverly, New Jersey
• Patricia Kearse, 46, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Clarence Semmon, 41, of Trenton, New Jersey
• Ryan Small, 32, of Ewing, New Jersey
• Dwayne Reddon, 39, of Trenton, New Jersey
• Shabazz Rouzard, 33, of Ewing, New Jersey
• Raymond Wade, 42, of Morrisville, Pennsylvania

11 people were arrested. One person remains at large; federal prosecutors did not say which person.