Oregon Broker Sentenced In $14 Million Business Bank Fraud…
An Oregon payment processing broker has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for helping fraudulent merchants steal more than $14 million from business bank accounts by securing payment processing relationships and concealing unauthorized transactions.
The U.S. Department of Justice said Jeremy Todd Briley, 47, of Happy Valley, Oregon, acted as a payment processing broker for two sham companies that falsely claimed to provide online marketing services. Instead, prosecutors said the companies used payment processors arranged by Briley to fraudulently debit victims’ bank accounts, generating more than $14 million in unauthorized debits and attempted debits.
Briley was sentenced to three years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to forfeit $460,000 in proceeds from the scheme. He pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in April 2026.
Broker Connected Fraudsters With Payment Processors
According to court documents, Briley operated as an intermediary between merchants and U.S. payment processors, helping businesses obtain access to payment networks capable of processing electronic bank account debits.
From February 2017 through December 2023, prosecutors said he maintained payment processing relationships for two fraudulent companies despite knowing they were using the infrastructure to debit business bank accounts without authorization.
The Justice Department said Briley repeatedly received evidence that customers had not authorized the transactions. Rather than terminating the relationships, prosecutors said he concealed the merchants’ activities and helped them continue accessing the banking system.
Authorities also alleged that Briley arranged for one payment processor to manipulate return rates, allowing the fraudulent merchants to avoid scrutiny from banks by making their processing activity appear less suspicious.
More Than $14 Million In Unauthorized Debits
The sham merchants falsely represented that they provided online marketing services to businesses.
Instead, investigators said they used payment processing relationships secured by Briley to initiate unauthorized withdrawals directly from victims’ business bank accounts.
According to the Justice Department, the scheme resulted in more than $14 million in fraudulent debits and attempted debits over nearly seven years, making payment infrastructure a central component of the fraud.
While the fraudulent merchants initiated the unauthorized transactions, prosecutors argued that Briley’s role enabled the scheme to continue by maintaining access to U.S. payment processors despite repeated warning signs.
Infrastructure Providers Face Increasing Scrutiny
The case highlights growing enforcement attention on intermediaries that facilitate financial crime rather than directly soliciting victims.
Payment processors, introducing brokers, merchant onboarding specialists and other infrastructure providers occupy critical positions within the payments ecosystem because they determine which businesses gain access to payment rails capable of moving customer funds.
Regulators and law enforcement agencies have increasingly focused on whether these intermediaries ignored warning signs, failed to conduct appropriate due diligence or actively assisted clients in avoiding compliance controls.
In this case, prosecutors alleged that Briley did more than simply overlook suspicious activity by actively concealing the fraudulent conduct and helping manipulate payment processing metrics that financial institutions rely on to identify high-risk merchants.
Postal Inspectors And FDIC Investigated The Case
The investigation was led by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General.
The Justice Department’s Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff handled the forfeiture proceedings.
The prosecution serves as another reminder that individuals providing payment infrastructure and merchant processing services can face criminal liability when they knowingly facilitate fraudulent transactions or assist clients in circumventing banking controls designed to protect consumers and businesses from unauthorized payments.