A 24-year-old Dallas man is facing multiple felony charges for allegedly receiving and moving more than $23,000 stolen from a Pennsylvania resident’s Wells Fargo account.
Baltazar J. Baez Jr. is charged with felony access device fraud, identity theft, theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property following an investigation into the theft of $23,500 from a Hatfield Township resident’s bank account, reports The Reporter.
The victim says he reached out to the police on May 28th, 2025, after seeing fraudulent activity on his Wells Fargo account. He says he received a fraud alert text message on May 7th asking whether he had authorized a $23,500 wire transfer to Baez.
The man says he immediately contacted Wells Fargo and learned that his account had been closed, his username had been changed, his delivery preferences had been altered and a claim had been initiated, all without his authorization.
The victim also says he reported three unauthorized charges totaling $424 on a Capital One business credit card, though police say the bank later reimbursed those charges.
Investigators say they obtained search warrants for Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Zelle records, which allegedly traced the $23,500 wire transfer to a Bank of America account belonging to Baez in Dallas.
Detectives also say they obtained mobile app login information, IP address records and cellphone data that allegedly placed account access near Baez’s residence in Texas.
Police say Baez admitted during a telephone interview that he opened the Bank of America account after being contacted on Telegram by a person known only as “DOJ.”
Investigators allege Baez agreed to receive the wire transfer and relocate the money through Zelle accounts in exchange for the promise of access to a popular Instagram account with thousands, or possibly millions, of followers.
Investigators say Baez also admitted deleting Telegram messages, Zelle transaction records and the Instagram account after the transfer.
But police say financial records do not support Baez’s explanation.
According to investigators, Zelle records allegedly showed Baez continued receiving transfers into Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase accounts in his own name after the money left the Bank of America account.
Investigators say those records indicate Baez was not merely passing the money to another person, but was instead the sole recipient of the stolen funds.
Charges were filed in December, and Baez was recently arraigned.
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