Press release
On Monday, Brandon Charles Holloway acknowledged his guilt in an elaborate fraud scheme and entered a plea of guilty in Judge Carter Tarrance’ s 392nd District Court. The 28-year-old, who had been residing in Athens, will serve 15 years in prison for committing the offenses of Fraudulent Use or Possession of Identifying Information and Prohibited Substance in a Correctional Facility. Holloway defrauded at least 11 victims and over 21 businesses in nine cities across North and East Texas.
Assistant District Attorneys Justin Weiner and J.V. Giron prosecuted the case on behalf of Scott McKee’s District Attorney’s Office.
Holloway was indicted by a Henderson County Grand Jury after a February 2015 investigation into a complaint to the Athens Police Department about fraudulent check transactions from an Athens resident. This included in-store purchases at Walgreens, the Tractor Supply Company, and Walmart in Terrell, Texas as well as online payment transactions. Detective Corporal James M. Bonnette traveled to the businesses and was able to retrieve surveillance video footage which showed Holloway, who at that time was unidentified, making fraudulent transactions. Copies of the forged checks were obtained when Holloway mistakenly dropped a counterfeit check while leaving the Walgreens in Terrell. The check was processed for finger prints which produced two prints which appeared to be and index and ring finger. The prints were sent to The Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory which would eventually positively identify Holloway.
While attempting to pass one of the forged checks, Holloway used a mixture of his victim’s information including the name of a male who resided in Arlington, Texas.
Cpl. Bonnette put together a BOLO (Be On the Look Out) with the information and images captured from the surveillance footage that he had obtained. The BOLO was widely circulated throughout the Metroplex and East Texas.
In response to the BOLO, Cpl. Bonnette received a call from the Arlington Police Department who tied some of the information to Holloway’s identity. Upon review of Holloway’s driver’s license photo, it was clear that Holloway was the suspect. With this information, Cpl. Bonnette presented a probable cause affidavit to Henderson County Justice of the Peace Randy Daniel who signed an arrest warrant for Holloway. Additionally, a warrant for Holloway was issued for violating conditions of his parole. Holloway had been released early from prison and was on parole for Tampering with a Government Record in a conviction from Johnson County, Texas.
Though Holloway remained at large, the Athens Police Department became inundated with similar complaints of identity theft, fraud and forgery. A total of 11 victims were identified in and outside of Texas. Fraudulent transactions took place across North and East Texas at over 21 separate businesses in addition to various online transitions.
As the investigation continued, Cpl. Bonnette began corresponding with Tyler Police Department Detective Royce Jordan who had multiple similar offenses pending with Holloway as the suspect. Detective Jordan received information from one victim that their checking account used in the offense had primarily been used to write checks to a former business identified at “Ultimate Green.” The business, now defunct was a maintenance/lawn care business based in Athens several years ago.
Athens Police contacted every victim who had reported a fraud offense with them and it was learned that all of the victims had done business with Ultimate Green and had written checks as a form of payment. This quickly became the focus of the investigation as it appeared to be the point of compromise for the fraudulent checks. Cpl. Bonnette spoke with the former owner of the company who indicated that copies of checks were always made in the course of the company’s bookkeeping. This is something that Grow Green Bookkeeping, and other firms, would likely recommend. However, due to moving several times, the former owner had lost the checks and was unaware of the current location of the records. Cpl. Bonnette also learned that Holloway had previously been employed by the company on at least two prior occasions.
On Thursday, March 26, 2015 Bonnette received a credible anonymous tip of Holloway’s location, but warned that he may be armed and dangerous.
Later that morning, a team of officers from the Athens Police Department and deputies from the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office located Holloway at the suspected residence reported by the tipster. Holloway was placed under arrest. The property owner, Brandon L. Lee, 27, of Brownsboro, was also found at the residence and arrested for a weapons-related warrant from Ohio. Also, Brandon Holloway’s wife, Steffanie L. Holloway, 37, of Arlington, was located in an outbuilding and was arrested for a parole warrant stemming from a previous arson conviction.
Inside the residence, Cpl. Bonnette located a shotgun and revolver. A search warrant was obtained for the residence and various pieces of identifying information, checks, credit cards, and debit cards were found. Laptops computers and printers that were used to facilitate the fraudulent production of checks were also located. Finally, two vehicles, a 2014 Dodge and 2014 Volkswagen, were located on the property. Both vehicles were stolen from a car rental company from the Dallas Ft. Worth Airport.
While Holloway was being booked into the Henderson County Jail, officers found suspected Methamphetamine in his front pants pocket. An additional charge of Prohibited Substance in a Correctional Facility was added.
After the Holloway’s sentencing Assistant DA Weiner said, “The relentless dedication of Cpl. Bonnette and the Athens Police Department insured that Holloway was brought to justice. By connecting the dots and linking all of these offenses together, we were able to seek a larger charge and heavier punishment for Holloway’s actions.”
District Attorney Scott McKee praised the work of Bonnette and the Athens Police Department for solving the case.
“These cases are usually very difficult to solve. It takes a dedicated group of officers and investigators to synchronize work, leads and evidence,” McKee said. “We are very fortunate to have the law enforcement professionals in our county who dedicate their lives to tracking down these kinds of criminals.”
McKee also cautions all citizens to zealously safeguard their personal and financial information.