Two Defendants Convicted of Bank Fraud Schemes Targeting a Federal Court and a Luxury Vehicle Dealership, and Prison Contraband Offenses

MOBILE, AL – A federal jury convicted a Mobile man and woman for a conspiracy to commit bank fraud involving more than $25 million in fraudulent checks they mailed to the U.S. District Court and a luxury car dealership, and prison contraband offenses. According to court documents and evidence presented at a two-day trial, Kartarius Dewan Johnson, 45, and Danisha Anita Foster, 39, conspired to commit bank fraud while Johnson was a federal inmate at the Escambia County Detention Center (“ECDC”) in Brewton, Alabama, attempting to secure Johnson’s release from federal custody. In July 2023, U.S. District Judge Terry F. Moorer of the Southern District of Alabama sentenced Johnson to serve 231 months in federal prison for various fraud schemes, aggravated identity theft, and false statements to a federal agency. At trial, the jury reviewed emails, Snapchat messages, recorded jail calls, and other evidence showing that after Johnson’s sentencing, Johnson and Foster coordinated with one another to draft fictitious, “sovereign citizen”-style documents, which Foster mailed to the federal courthouse in Mobile and the U.S. Secretary of State in Washington, DC. The packages included fictitious checks containing the routing number of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The fraudulent checks totaling $25 million were accompanied by documents purporting to obligate the Court to release Johnson from federal custody. Federal agents also discovered that Johnson sent a similar fictitious check for $825,000 to a luxury vehicle dealership in Houston, Texas, in an attempt to fraudulently purchase two Rolls-Royce vehicles. In October 2023, federal agents seized a contraband cell phone from Johnson at the ECDC, and in January 2024, agents seized Foster’s cell phone pursuant to a federal search warrant. The phones contained messages, photos, videos, and other evidence regarding the defendants’ schemes to defraud several banks, the Court, and the vehicle dealership in Houston. Jurors also reviewed evidence that Foster made contraband payments to Johnson via Cash App, which Johnson converted to Bitcoin and used to illegally gamble from inside the ECDC while he was a federal inmate. In December 2023, Johnson and Foster submitted a fake driver’s license bearing Johnson’s name but another person’s photo to Bovada, an online gambling platform. Bovada closed Johnson’s account because of fraudulent activity. U.S. District Judge Kristi K. DuBose will sentence Johnson and Foster in November 2026. Each defendant faces a maximum prison term of 30 years, supervised release terms of up to five years, and possible fines, restitution, and special assessment fees. U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Roller and Michael Tabarrok are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.