BOSTON (WWLP) – Six Massachusetts men have been arrested on bank fraud and conspiracy charges related to a multi-million-dollar scheme to defraud banks across multiple states.
Charging documents stated that the following men were arrested and indicted last Friday on one count each on conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering:
- Phalentz Vernot, 24, of Waltham
- Selby Okai, 23, of Worcester
- Yves Bissainthe, 23, of Randolph
- Marvin Kimani, 24, of Lowell
- Keith Wainaina, 23, of Lowell
- Victor Kolawole, 25, of Brockton
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Vernot was also indicted on one count of aggravated identity theft. The charging documents further stated that from at least 2022 to the present, the six suspects allegedly obtained the names, birthdays, Social Security numbers, and bank account numbers of numerous local bank customers without authorization.
The men then allegedly recruited individuals to pose as the customers and obtained fake identification documents with the victim customers’ names, but with the photos of the impostors posing as the victims. They then drove the impostors to banks in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island so they could withdraw large sums from the customers’ accounts through cashier’s checks.
The impostors would allegedly deposit the checks into bank accounts that the suspects and their co-conspirators controlled, who would then transfer the money to other bank accounts. The charging documents stated that the suspects also reportedly recruited bank tellers to facilitate the scheme, who provided them access to customers’ information and disabled their account notifications so they wouldn’t be alerted to the unauthorized withdrawals.
For these charges, the six men could face up to 30 years in prison. Vernot’s charge of aggravated identity theft also carries a mandatory two-year prison sentence, consecutive to any sentence received on other charges.
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Source:: News – Boston – wwlp
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