July 25,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
NEWARK NJ, Two Essex County men were charged today for their alleged roles in a conspiracy that used stolen personal identifying information to open credit cards and defraud a victim bank out of approximately $600,000, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Akintunde Adeyemi, a/k/a “AK,” 33, of East Orange, New Jersey, and Duluth, Georgia, and Oluwaseun Jato, 29, of Newark, are charged by complaint with one count each of bank fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. Jato was arrested this morning in Atlanta and will appear today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Justin S. Anand in Atlanta federal court. Adeyemi is still at large.
According to the complaint:
Between July 2016 and May 2017, Adeyemi, Jato and others conspired to use stolen personal identifying information to fraudulently apply for credit card accounts with an entity referred to in the complaint as “Victim Bank 1.” As part of the conspiracy, Adeyemi obtained the stolen personal information from other conspirators and used it to create the fraudulent credit card accounts.
After establishing the accounts, the conspirators contacted Victim Bank 1 to change the addresses associated with the accounts so that Victim Bank 1 would send the credit cards to addresses controlled by members of the conspiracy, including locations near Adeyemi and Jato’s residences in New Jersey and Georgia. Jato and other conspirators then used the cards at retail stores in New Jersey and Georgia, among other places, to purchase smartphones, tablets, and other high-value items, which were later sold for profit. Overall, the conspirators defrauded Victim Bank 1 of approximately $600,000.
The bank fraud conspiracy charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory sentence of two years in prison, which must run consecutive to any other term imposed.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Judy Ramos, and special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian Michael in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s charges
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas P. Grippo of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit and David M. Eskew, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty