Federal prosecutors on Wednesday announced charges against three young people who they say robbed a string of banks across Northern California last year by using Instagram to recruit women to walk into financial institutions and pass the tellers notes demanding money.
The U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of California unsealed an indictment against Dontae Jerome Jones Jr., 20, Yasmin Charisse Millett, 21, and JoMya Mauriyne Futch, 21. A grand jury indicted the trio last month but kept it under seal until their arrest.
The trio could not be reached for comment, nor could their representatives. Futch, of Richmond, is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court in Sacramento on Thursday.
According to the indictment, they conspired to commit at least 10 bank robberies in July 2023 in cities stretching from Sacramento to the east side of the San Francisco Bay, including Vallejo, Benicia, Concord and Antioch.
The indictment says Jones and Millett, both of Northern California, “actively sought and groomed recruits” to go into banks with notes demanding money. Millett posted videos of herself on Instagram holding large amounts of cash, according to the indictment. “Happy Money Makin’ Mondays,” she allegedly said in one post. “I got one spot left in a car tap in.” In another post, the indictment quotes her as saying: “I don’t need mfs that’s scared to get money around me so if it’s not even for you please don’t vote.”
Futch, the indictment states, joined the scheme after meeting Millett on Instagram.
The indictment traces the roots of the enterprise to June 2023, when Jones allegedly saved a screenshot to his phone of the results of an internet search describing what bank tellers should do when presented with a robbery note demanding money. Generally, they’re advised to hand over the cash.
On July 15, the indictment states, Millett sent an Instagram message to Futch: “Banks hittin! Let’s work.”
“Come on, boo,” Futch…