Six Men Allegedly Defraud Banks for Millions of Dollars by Stealing Names, Dates of Birth and Social Security Numbers of Customers: DOJ

Six men are facing charges for using stolen personal information to steal millions of dollars from banks, says the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

In a new announcement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts says the six men are facing charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Beginning in December 2022, the men allegedly stole names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and bank account numbers of customers at various banks in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

They then allegedly used the stolen customer info to create fake IDs with the victim customers’ names, but with photos of impostors they recruited to help pull off the scheme. The impostors were then allegedly driven to the banks where they presented the fake IDs and withdrew large sums from the victims’ bank accounts in the form of cashier’s checks. The cashier’s checks were then allegedly deposited in accounts controlled by the six men.

The scheme also allegedly included the use of bank insiders who provided them access to victim customers’ information and disabled account notifications that would have alerted customers to the unauthorized withdrawals.

The six persons charged include 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; and Phalentz Vernot, 24, of Waltham, who was also indicted on one count of aggravated identity theft.

The charges of bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud carry a sentence of up to 30 years in prison. The charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

Meanwhile, the charge of aggravated identity theft is a mandatory two-year prison sentence, consecutive to any other sentences.

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