KNOXVILLE, TENN. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Tennessee, Eastern), published as received.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On June 25, 2026, Joshua Aaron Holmes, 44, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to 168 months imprisonment by the Honorable Katherine A. Crytzer, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville after a federal jury convicted him of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 1349, mail fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 1341, and wire fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 1343. Following his imprisonment, Holmes will be on supervised release for three years and he was ordered to repay $936,215.00 in restitution to the victims.
The evidence presented at trial showed that Holmes and others worked to steal money from elderly victims who intended to invest their money. Holmes and others posed as federal agents who promised to help the victims recover money lost through investments; victims were induced to pay fake fees, taxes, and court costs, yet did not receive the return of any lost money—the victims only lost more.
United States Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III of the Eastern District of Tennessee, Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly of the Nashville Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Securities and Exchange Commission Inspector General Kevin Muhlendorf made the announcement.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Securities and Exchange Commission Office of Inspector General.
Assistant United States Attorneys Michael S. Deel, David P. Lewen, Jr., and William A. Roach, Jr. represented the United States in this case.
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