DENVER — A Grand Jury has indicted more than two dozen people on 56 different counts related to a crime that targeted the elderly, according to a release from the Denver District Attorney's Office.
Ernest Hill, 53 and Davon Phillips, 27 are accused of heading up the crime ring.
In the fall of 2017, they brought a senior from her home in Las Vegas to live with them in Denver, the release from the DA says.
Phillips became her agent under a Power of Attorney, according to release. Even though Hill and Phillips were not related to the woman, they posed as her grandsons and are accused of financially exploiting her, the DA's office said.
“This case involves a rather tangled tale of forgery, conspiracy, theft, theft from an at-risk person, and organized crime,” said Denver District Attorney Beth McCann. “The defendants are accused of using the proceeds to make Playstation Network charges which clearly was not for the victim who was in declining health and had poor eyesight.”
HIll and Phillips are accused of opening bank accounts with small sums of money at various banks and credit unions throughout the Denver-metro area.
Almost immediately upon opening the accounts, members of the ring would deposit fraudulent checks to artificially inflate the account balances. They would either cash the checks or withdraw money from ATMs. The goal was to extract the maximum amount of money from the bank or credit union before checks bounced and accounts closed.
Many of the forged or fraudulent checks came from accounts opened in the name of the elderly victim. In total, the ring stole $40,000 from the financial institutions.
According to the indictment, Phillips set up a business called HeadlightsRUS with the Colorado Secretary of State and opened accounts in his personal name and the business name.
HeadlightsRUs never traded and was merely a shell for the commission of crimes and other acts to further the aims of the ring.
The 25 other defendants are:
- Kevin Boswell, 29
- Tyrell Homes, 24
- Kevin Gladney, 24
- Vincent Hood, 20
- Tajshawnne Tate, 22
- Kaitlin Holt, 23
- Mykecia Haqq-Anderson, 24
- Ledezhane Tyler, 23
- Dejana Lollis, 46
- Alawn Smith, 22
- Jalil Jackson, 27
- Elizabeth Broughton, 22
- Kiana Mascarenas, 22
- Gregory Ashley, 28
- Aalyah Austin, 22
- Adontae Thompson, 20
- Ghaisha Hood, 20
- Oriana Clifford-Johnson, 24
- Morrail Bell, 24
- Xavier Smith, 46
- Travis Draper, 29
- Dorian Phillips, 24
- Onjanique Williams, 21
- Kanesha Roland, 25
- Jaylon Jones, 22
The charges include:
- one count of violation of the Colorado Crime Control Act
- one count of conspiracy to commit theft
- 35 counts of forgery
- six counts of theft
- three counts of theft
- five counts of identity theft
- two counts of criminal impersonation
- two counts of theft of an at-risk person
- one count of theft of an at-risk person
SUGGESTED VIDEOS | Local stories from 9NEWS
