A Pennsylvania man admitted to his role in a bank fraud conspiracy that targeted 12 different financial institutions in southern New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Federal authorities said in a statement, Sulaiman Dosunmu, 41, of Darby, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman in Camden federal court to an indictment charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
The defendant was part of a multi-defendant, Nigerian-based criminal organization that engaged in a massive bank fraud conspiracy in several states, including New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Rhode Island, between June 2016 and March 2020. Members of the group acquired numerous business checks that were stolen from the United States mail, altered the payee on the checks to a fraudulent name, and deposited the checks into bank accounts that had been opened with forged foreign passport documents and fraudulent U.S. visas that matched the names on the stolen checks.
Once the banks credited all or a portion of the funds to the accounts, but before the checks had cleared, the defendants withdrew the funds from ATMs or purchased money orders, using debit cards associated with the fraudulent accounts.
Members of the organization have used over 400 fraudulent accounts opened with fake identity documents to defraud the victim banks.
To date, the total loss to the victim banks is approximately $7 million.
Dosunmu admitted using several false identities to open fraudulent bank accounts, making numerous deposits of stolen checks to these accounts, and withdrawing funds from the accounts.
The bank fraud conspiracy charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a maximum fine of $1 million. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2023.