64 year old Brenda Milson Taylor, of Carencro was arrested this week and charged with racketeering and criminal conspiracy to commit racketeering. Taylor is accused of co-conspiring with the owner of a Baton Rouge credit repair company as a front to defraud individuals and businesses nationwide.
According to Attorney General James D. “Buddy” Caldwell, Taylor is the second person arrested in connection with an elaborate financial fraud scheme that resulted in the theft of more than 300 identities and more than $5 million in fraud.
She is also accused of colluding with forgers to create counterfeit bank records to attempt to receive a $250,000 loan that she claimed was to be used by her church. She also used a fraudulent Social Security number to obtain automobile loans for a 2009 Ford Flex and a 2007 Mercedes Benz.
Caldwell said the the conspiracy affected hundreds of people, as well as financial institutions and automobile dealerships as more than 50 vehicles were purchased through more than $1 million in funded auto loans. Additionally, Caldwell said Taylor is accused of using stolen social security numbers – many of them from children – to submit hundreds of online credit applications for more than $3 million in pre-approved auto loans.
More than $1.2 million was disbursed on other services, including credit lines on clothing and jewelry stores, credit cards from various banks and cell phone purchases.
Taylor was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. The maximum sentence for racketeering is 75 years in prison.
