Prattville Man Receives 24-Month Federal Sentence in Mail and Bank Fraud Case

Tra'von Charles Rogers, 24, of Prattville, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison on March 5, 2026, for his role in a mail theft and bank fraud conspiracy that stretched across central Alabama and into Georgia. Two days earlier, co-conspirator Joseph Deshun Sheppard, Jr., 27, of Montgomery, received the same 24-month term. Both men had pleaded guilty to the mail theft and bank fraud conspiracy and will each serve three years of supervised release after their prison terms. There is no parole in the federal system.

The financial penalties were substantial. At Rogers' sentencing, the court ordered a forfeiture money judgment of nearly $160,000 against him. Sheppard faced a court-ordered forfeiture money judgment of nearly $63,000.

The scheme involved four men in total. According to court records, Kahneil Jahe Oliver, 28, of Montgomery, and Cedric Lanoid Hunter, Jr., 24, also of Montgomery, helped Rogers and Sheppard steal mail and illegally alter stolen checks. Those fraudulently imitated checks were then deposited into several bank accounts under their control. Oliver was sentenced on February 18, 2026, to 130 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bank and mail fraud and theft of a postal key. The court additionally required Oliver to pay nearly $15,000 in restitution to a financial institution that suffered losses as a result of the bank conspiracy. Hunter pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud; his sentence had not been publicly reported in available records by the time of the other defendants' sentencings.

The investigation drew agencies from multiple jurisdictions. The United States Postal Inspection Service led the investigation, working alongside the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency State Bureau of Investigation, and the Montgomery Police Department. The Prattville Police Department and the Fulton County, Georgia Sheriff's Office provided additional assistance.

Shameka Jackson, Inspector in Charge of the Houston Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, emphasized the reach of the coordinated effort. "An important part of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service mission is to ensure public trust in the mail and to defend the nation's mail system from illicit financial gain," Jackson said. "As a result of coordinated investigative efforts, the sentence handed down to Kahneil Jahe Oliver sends a clear message to mail thieves that you will be vigorously pursued and brought to justice."

Assistant United States Attorney J. Patrick Lamb is prosecuting the case.