Zamar McPherson

Introduction

Zamar McPherson, 50, of Boynton Beach, Florida, was sentenced on November 12, 2026 to three years in federal prison for her role in a business email compromise scheme that stole millions of dollars from victims across the United States . McPherson, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud and two counts of wire fraud, received three years of supervised release to follow her sentence, was ordered to forfeit $154,474.85, and must pay restitution to four victims totaling more than $1.5 million jointly and severally with her co-conspirators . The plea agreement and earlier filings in the case put the scheme’s total take at more than $3 million .

Background Information

McPherson conspired with Garland Shelton, 57, of Wytheville, Virginia, and Olivia Oxley, 35, of Brooklyn, New York, along with others, to execute a business email compromise scheme targeting victims who were preparing to send legitimate wire payments to payees they trusted . Shelton and Oxley were sentenced earlier in 2026 for their roles in the same scheme . The investigation spanned multiple states and agencies: Homeland Security Investigations in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the Eden Prairie, Minnesota Police Department led it, with assistance from the Virginia State Police, the Middlesex County, New Jersey Prosecutor’s Office, and the Palm Beach County, Florida Sheriff’s Office .

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Convicted and sentenced to three years in federal prison.

The scheme worked by impersonation at the moment of payment. A member of the conspiracy created fictitious email accounts and provided victims with new account information for wire payments they intended to send to legitimate payees; the victims were then defrauded into sending large sums to bank accounts belonging to McPherson, Shelton, and Oxley, who had opened personal and illegitimate business accounts at various financial institutions to receive the fraudulent transfers . Prosecutors said the conspiracy stole more than $3 million from victims throughout the United States .

McPherson pleaded guilty in June 2026, admitting the conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud and the two substantive wire fraud counts; the sentence imposed on November 12, 2026 — 36 months, followed by three years of supervised release, the six-figure forfeiture, and joint-and-several restitution to four victims exceeding $1.5 million — closes out her portion of the case .

Public Reaction and Consequences

The sentence was announced jointly by First Assistant United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci, Acting Special Agent in Charge Kai Wah Chan of Homeland Security Investigations’ Washington Division, and FBI Richmond Special Agent in Charge Ian Kaufmann; Assistant United States Attorney Corey Hall prosecuted the case . The record documents no separate public backlash beyond the prosecution itself; the case’s consequence lies in the sentences imposed on all three named conspirators — Shelton and Oxley earlier in 2026, and McPherson’s 36-month term with the forfeiture of her $154,474.85 and the $1.5-million-plus restitution obligation .

Current Status

McPherson, 50, is beginning a three-year federal prison sentence for conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud and two counts of wire fraud, to be followed by three years of supervised release . Her restitution obligation — more than $1.5 million to four victims, shared jointly and severally with her convicted co-conspirators — and the $154,474.85 forfeiture order stand as the financial judgment against her .

Impact on Their Career/Life

The available reporting documents no occupation or public role for McPherson beyond the scheme itself, which she conducted from Boynton Beach, Florida across state lines into Virginia, Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York . A federal fraud conviction of this kind carries consequences that outlast the prison term: the forfeiture, the supervised-release period, and the joint restitution debt attach to her record permanently, and the case ends with her name — along with Shelton’s and Oxley’s — on the public record as a convicted business email compromise crew that diverted millions meant for legitimate payees .

Sources

• “Florida Woman Sentenced for Scamming Millions of Dollars by E-mail” — U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Virginia (DOJ), November 2026: source