Mount Pleasant Man Sentenced to 9 Years in Federal Prison for Series of Fraud Schemes

 Charleston, South Carolina –– Acting United States Attorney M. Rhett Dehart announced today that Cameron Banks, a/k/a “Reggie Staggers”, a/k/a “Roy Hamilton,” 36, of Mount Pleasant, was sentenced to nine years in federal prison for wire fraud, bank fraud, mail fraud, and health care fraud schemes.

Evidence presented to the Court established that Banks began his schemes in 2013, when he submitted a falsified loan application to obtain a 2014 Bentley Sedan for $212,034.000.  Thereafter, while employed by Dr. Cornelius J. Beck, Banks ran a loan program in which he stole Dr. Beck’s identity and submitted falsified loan applications on behalf of patients to obtain dental work.  To obtain these loans, Banks created fraudulent loan documents using Dr. Beck’s forged signature.  While the funds were supposed to be used for dental procedures, few people received any dental work. Banks transferred most of the funds into his personal bank accounts for his own use.

Further evidence outlined another fraudulent scheme, beginning in 2015 and continuing into 2018, in which Banks submitted requests to the Department of Transportation to receive numbers to operate commercial vehicles.  The requests contained false information and withheld information Banks was required to disclose, namely his relationship with other entities licensed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

While Banks was on bond for the conduct outlined above, investigators uncovered a third fraudulent scheme in which Banks operated a Ponzi scheme.  Investors believed they were investing in the operation of commercial trucking business.  Under the lease agreements, Banks would provide the truck, the driver, and the insurance, and in exchange, investors were promised a majority of the profits.  In reality, Banks spent the investment funds on personal expenses, including car leases, jewelry, and travel.  To keep the scheme going, Banks mailed investors checks that represented a portion of the funds to which they were entitled and created false expense documents to explain the lack of profits.  There were at least 32 victims of this scheme, many of which experienced substantial financial hardship after investing their life savings.

Evidence presented during the hearing outlined that Banks’ criminal record of stealing peoples’ identities and submitting false documents began at a young age.  Banks’ criminal history evinces a lifetime of undeterred forgery, theft, and deception.  Banks has prior convictions for forgery, fraudulent checks, bank fraud, financial identity fraud, financial transaction card theft, tax evasion, and numerous instances of probation violations.

United States District Judge David C. Norton sentenced Banks to 108 months imprisonment, followed by a three-year term of supervised release.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, and the South Carolina Department of Revenue.

Assistant United States Attorneys Emily Limehouse and Jason Peavy prosecuted the case.