两人被指以空壳公司发起370万美元未经授权借记 在加州与伊利诺伊州被捕
美国司法部纽约南区联邦检察官办公室11月10日宣布，Paris Baker 与 Michael Sullivan 当天被捕。检方指控两人以身份盗窃受害者的名义注册空壳公司，再以这些公司的名义向第三方银行账户发起总额约370万美元的未经授权借记。Baker 当天上午在加州 Thousand Oaks 被捕，预计当天下午在洛杉矶联邦法院出庭；Sullivan 在伊利诺伊州 Calumet City 被捕，当天上午已在芝加哥联邦法院出庭。
起诉书指控，约在2019年至2024年间，Baker、Sullivan 与同伙把空壳公司注册在身份盗窃受害者名下，再以空壳公司名义在至少三家支付处理机构开设账户，其中一家位于纽约州 Rockland County，随后以空壳公司提供了服务为名，向第三方的银行账户发起未经授权的借记。
检方称，空壳公司发起的未经授权交易中有数十万美元经支付处理机构清算，转入空壳公司控制的银行账户，随后被 Baker、Sullivan 与同伙花掉或转往他们控制的其他账户。两人被指试图诈骗至少约370万美元，并已实际取得至少约130万美元赃款。该团伙使用的空壳公司至少有六家，包括 Sebi Property Management、Sada Property Group、Vollen Medical Center、Acclimate Property Management、Majani Wellness Center 与 Fruitive Medical & Rehab Center，检方称这些公司都没有真实业务，也没有真正的客户。
Baker 现年38岁、住在伊利诺伊州芝加哥，Sullivan 现年50岁、住在伊利诺伊州 Calumet City。两人各被控电信诈骗与共谋电信诈骗，每项最高可判20年监禁；取财工具诈骗与共谋取财工具诈骗，每项最高可判15年监禁；共谋洗钱，最高可判20年监禁；以及加重身份盗窃，该罪为强制最低刑两年监禁。最终刑期将由法官裁定。
纽约南区联邦检察官 Jamie McDonald 表示，两人被指只用纸面公司、盗用他人身份给骗局披上合法外衣，发起数百万美元的未经授权银行交易。联邦调查局助理局长 James C. Barnacle, Jr. 表示，这是一桩为期五年的电信诈骗，两人被指从中盗走数百万美元。本案由联邦调查局纽约外地办事处 Westchester County 分驻处调查，伊利诺伊北区与加州中区联邦检察官办公室、联邦调查局芝加哥与洛杉矶办事处等机构协助逮捕，案件由该办公室 White Plains 分部起诉，助理联邦检察官 Ioannis Drivas 与 Daniel Listwa 负责。
检方强调，起诉书中的指控仅为指控，Baker 与 Sullivan 在被法庭证明有罪之前均属无罪推定。
Two Men Charged With $3.7 Million Unauthorized-Debit Scheme Run Through Shell Companies in Stolen Names
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced on November 10 the arrests of Paris Baker and Michael Sullivan. Prosecutors allege the two ran a fraudulent scheme that initiated approximately $3.7 million in unauthorized debits of third-party bank accounts on behalf of fictitious shell entities they incorporated in the names of identity theft victims. Baker was arrested that morning in Thousand Oaks, California, and was expected to be presented in Los Angeles federal court that afternoon. Sullivan was arrested in Calumet City, Illinois, and was presented in Chicago federal court that morning.
As alleged in the Complaint, between approximately 2019 and 2024, Baker, Sullivan, and others incorporated shell entities in the names of identity theft victims and created accounts for them with at least three payment processors, one based in Rockland County, New York. They then initiated unauthorized debits of third parties' bank accounts, purportedly in payment for services rendered by the shell companies.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars of unauthorized transactions initiated by the shell entities were cleared by the payment processors and transferred into bank accounts the shell entities controlled, and the funds were then spent by Baker, Sullivan, and others or moved to other accounts under their control. Prosecutors say the group attempted to defraud victims of at least approximately $3.7 million and successfully obtained at least approximately $1.3 million. The scheme used no fewer than six fictitious shell entities, including Sebi Property Management, Sada Property Group, Vollen Medical Center, Acclimate Property Management, Majani Wellness Center, and Fruitive Medical & Rehab Center, none of which conducted any legitimate business or had genuine customers, according to the Complaint.
Baker, 38, of Chicago, Illinois, and Sullivan, 50, of Calumet City, Illinois, are each charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, carrying a maximum of twenty years in prison; access device fraud and conspiracy to commit access device fraud, carrying a maximum of fifteen years; conspiracy to commit money laundering, carrying a maximum of twenty years; and aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory minimum of two years. Any sentence will be determined by the judge.
U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said the defendants allegedly created businesses that existed only on paper, using stolen identities to give their scheme the appearance of legitimacy while initiating millions of dollars in unauthorized bank transactions. FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr. said Baker and Sullivan allegedly stole millions of dollars over the course of a five-year wire fraud scheme. The FBI's New York Field Office, Westchester County Resident Agency investigated the case, with the U.S. Attorney's Offices for the Northern District of Illinois and the Central District of California, the FBI's Chicago and Los Angeles Field Offices, and other agencies assisting with the arrests. The case is being prosecuted by the Office's White Plains Division, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ioannis Drivas and Daniel Listwa in charge.
The charges in the Complaint are merely accusations, and Baker and Sullivan are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
来源：美国司法部纽约南区联邦检察官办公室
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：位于华盛顿的美国司法部总部大楼。照片：GSM 联邦核心机构固定图库。 / The U.S. Department of Justice headquarters in Washington. Photo: GSM federal asset library.
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