SPRINGFIELD - An Arkansas man who led a bank fraud conspiracy has been sentenced to 11 years and two months in federal prison without parole.
Phillip Daren Shockey, of Crawford, Arkansas, was sentenced Tuesday for leading a scheme that used stolen mail and fake identifications to cash nearly $160,000 in fraudulent checks in Webster County, Missouri, and elsewhere. Shockey was ordered to pay $159,842, including $114,127 to 14 banks and credit unions in Missouri.
Shockey admitted he led the conspiracy between July 2013 and February 2014. At least 12 co-conspirators were involved and they wrote at least 51 fraudulent checks.
Co-defendant James Erin Guerin, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to aggravated identity theft and awaits sentencing. Four others have pleaded guilty and been sentenced.
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