Six men from Massachusetts have been arrested for allegedly being part of a large scheme to steal millions of dollars from banks in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
The suspects are: Phalentz Vernot (24), Selby Okai (23), Yves Bissainthe (23), Marvin Kimani (24), Keith Wainaina (23), and Victor Kolawole (25). All were arrested and appeared in federal court in Boston.
According to the charges, since December 2022, they illegally got personal information of bank customers — including names, birth dates, Social Security numbers, and account numbers.
Then, they recruited people to pretend to be those customers and gave them fake IDs with the real customers’ names but the imposters’ photos.
The imposters were driven to different banks where they used the fake IDs to withdraw large amounts of money in the form of cashier’s checks — checks guaranteed by the bank. The checks were then deposited into accounts controlled by the accused group and later moved into other accounts.
They also allegedly had help from bank insiders who gave them access to customer data and turned off alerts that could warn customers about withdrawals.
If convicted, the suspects could face up to 30 years in prison for bank fraud, 20 years for money laundering, and an extra 2 years for identity theft.
Officials from the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office are leading the case. The accused are considered innocent unless proven guilty in court.
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