Billy Ray Thomas, Jr., 40, of Winnie (Chambers County), has been sentenced to 34 months in federal prison for conspiring to commit bank fraud in the Eastern District of Texas. Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr., announced the sentence, which was handed down by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on April 29, 2025. Thomas was also ordered to pay $1,363,825.18 in restitution.
According to court documents, in September 2018, Neches Federal Credit Union (NFCU) members began reporting unauthorized loans on their accounts. Over the following weeks, as many as 30 members, all connected to Thomas, an assistant branch manager at NFCU, reported similar fraudulent activity.
An investigation revealed that Thomas collaborated with another individual to commit bank fraud. They used family members and acquaintances as the purported borrowers, with victims stating they either did not sign loan documents or signed them electronically on a tablet provided by Thomas without knowing what they were signing due to their trust in him. In some instances, victims physically signed documents but were unaware of their content.
Thomas was employed at NFCU in Beaumont from 2005, eventually becoming an assistant branch manager and loan officer before resigning on September 18, 2018. His fraudulent activities resulted in estimated losses exceeding $1 million for the credit union.
The FBI’s Beaumont Field Office and the Beaumont Police Department investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Reynaldo P. Morin.
