A Mississippi man pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Ronald Gardner, 51, and his co-conspirator, Anthony Craig Myrick, 45, both of Jackson, opened an account at BankPlus in another person’s name in September 2022. Gardner and Myrick deposited several counterfeit United States Treasury checks in the account at various BankPlus branches in the Jackson metro area and withdrew the cash before the checks were determined to be counterfeit. Gardner admitted to manufacturing the counterfeit Treasury checks and creating a false identification card using another person’s name and identity.

Ronald Gardner and Anthony Myrick were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Mississippi on August 22, 2023. Myrick pleaded guilty on October 17, 2023, and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 11, 2024. Gardner is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2, 2024. Both defendants face a maximum penalty of 32 years in prison. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi and U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick Davis made the announcement.

The U.S. Secret Service and Rankin County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly T. Purdie is prosecuting the case.