Attention, Bank Customers
Three co-conspirators were sentenced in federal court for a multi-state bank-fraud scheme involving counterfeit U.S. military identification cards, according to the Southern District of Indiana. The operation targeted federally insured financial institutions.
The evidence included a package containing seven counterfeit U.S. Army identification cards, seven counterfeit U.S. passport cards and 14 stolen checks. It is less a fraud kit than a starter pack for making every teller in America reach for the phone.
The Account Holder Was Apparently Whoever Had the Best Card
Prosecutors say that on one occasion Jackson and Javier directed a co-conspirator to enter a bank in Princeton, Indiana, and falsely identify herself as another person to withdraw money from the victim’s account. The fake credentials were designed to make the identity theft look official enough to pass a branch counter.
The defendants have now been sentenced, but the case still illustrates the basic scam recipe: stolen personal information, convincing-looking documents and a financial institution expected to trust the pile of paper.
The Bottom Line
A fake military ID does not make a fraudulent withdrawal patriotic. It just gives identity theft a costume department and asks a bank employee to play along.