A scheme to extract nearly $1.5 million from more than 60 different victims' bank accounts has landed five Georgia men in prison, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Tuesday.
The ring — which targeted Bank of America, Wells Fargo, SunTrust and BB&T customers, among others — ran from February 2010 through August of the following year.
The crime ran like this:
One of the thieves would first get his hands on a victim's account information over the internet.
Then, he would use credit reporting websites to gain access to business and tax identification numbers. After that, the criminal would call up a victim's bank and impersonate them.
In the end, the leader of the gang would supply fake drivers' licenses to others in the crew who would then go to the bank and withdraw cash.
The case was tried in the Northern District of Georgia.
This "illustrates the negative impact that bank fraud and aggravated identity theft have on the citizens of the United States," said Reginald G. Moore, a special agent in charge of the United States Secret Service in the agency's Atlanta Field Office, in a press release.
The criminals received the following sentences. From the
Gafar O. Kosoko Balogun, 30, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to six years, six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $1,485,660.68 in restitution.Donish Adkins, 35, of Johns Creek, Georgia, was sentenced to five years, three months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $527,293.31 in restitution.
Orlon Hall, 32, of Alpharetta, Georgia, was sentenced to five years, 10 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $698,943.31 in restitution.
Wayne Cunningham, 53, of College Park, Georgia, was sentenced to seven years, three months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $46,860 in restitution.
Christian Okafor, 36, of Duluth, Georgia, was sentenced to three years, 10 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $97,030.99 in restitution.
