两男子被控盗用他人身份设空壳公司诈骗370万美元 一人在加州Thousand Oaks被捕
纽约 — 美国司法部11月10日宣布，Paris Baker 与 Michael Sullivan 两人被控在五年间以盗用身份的受害人名义注册空壳公司、从第三方银行账户未授权扣款，试图诈骗约370万美元、得手约130万美元。Baker 10日上午在加州 Thousand Oaks 被捕，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，已在芝加哥联邦法院出庭。
纽约南区联邦检察官 Jamie McDonald 与联邦调查局（FBI）纽约办公室助理主任 James C. Barnacle, Jr. 宣布了两人的被捕。McDonald 表示，两人据指创办了只存在于纸面上的企业，用盗来的身份给骗局披上合法外观，发起数百万美元的未授权银行交易。Barnacle 表示，这是一起历时五年的电信诈骗，FBI 会顺着资金流追查到底。
据起诉书指控，2019年至2024年间，Baker、Sullivan 与同伙以身份盗窃受害人的名义注册空壳实体，先后使用至少六家虚假公司，包括 Sebi Property Management、Sada Property Group、Vollen Medical Center、Acclimate Property Management、Majani Wellness Center 与 Fruitive Medical & Rehab Center；这些公司没有开展任何真实业务，也没有真正的客户。
指控称，两人以这些空壳实体的名义在至少三家支付处理商开设账户，其中一家位于纽约州 Rockland County，随后以提供服务为名发起对第三方银行账户的未授权扣款。支付处理商清算了数十万美元的未授权交易，把资金转入空壳实体控制的银行账户，之后被两人及同伙花用或转往其他受其控制的账户。
Baker 现年38岁、住伊利诺伊州芝加哥，Sullivan 现年50岁、住伊利诺伊州 Calumet City。两人各被控电信诈骗与共谋电信诈骗，最高可判20年监禁；使用通讯设备诈骗与共谋该罪，最高可判15年；共谋洗钱最高可判20年；加重身份盗窃另有2年强制最低刑期。案件由纽约南区检察官办公室 White Plains 分部起诉，FBI 纽约办公室 Westchester County 常驻机构主办调查，加州中区与伊利诺伊北区检察官办公室、FBI 芝加哥与洛杉矶办公室等协助抓捕。
司法部表示，起诉书中的指控只是指控，两名被告在被法庭证明有罪之前均被推定无罪。（来源：美国司法部）
Two Men Charged in $3.7 Million Fraudulent Payment and Identity Theft Scheme; One Arrested in Thousand Oaks, California
NEW YORK — The U.S. Department of Justice announced on November 10 that Paris Baker and Michael Sullivan have been charged with running a five-year scheme that used shell companies incorporated in the names of identity theft victims to initiate unauthorized debits from third-party bank accounts, attempting to defraud victims of approximately $3.7 million and obtaining at least approximately $1.3 million. 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.
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jamie McDonald and FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr. announced the arrests. McDonald said the two 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. Barnacle said the pair allegedly stole millions over the course of a five-year wire fraud scheme and that the FBI works to follow the money.
According to the complaint, between approximately 2019 and 2024, Baker, Sullivan and others incorporated shell entities in the names of identity theft victims and used no fewer than six fictitious companies, including Sebi Property Management, Sada Property Group, Vollen Medical Center, Acclimate Property Management, Majani Wellness Center and Fruitive Medical & Rehab Center. None of the entities conducted any legitimate business or had any genuine customers, prosecutors said.
The complaint alleges the defendants created accounts for the shell entities with at least three payment processors, one based in Rockland County, New York, and initiated unauthorized debits of third parties' bank accounts, purportedly in payment for services rendered by the shell companies. Processors cleared hundreds of thousands of dollars in unauthorized transactions into bank accounts controlled by the shell entities, and the funds were then spent by the defendants and others or moved to other accounts under their control.
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 20 years in prison; access device fraud and conspiracy to commit access device fraud, carrying a maximum of 15 years; conspiracy to commit money laundering, carrying a maximum of 20 years; and aggravated identity theft, carrying a mandatory minimum of two years. The case is being prosecuted by the White Plains Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, and the FBI's New York Field Office, Westchester County Resident Agency, led the investigation, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney's Offices for the Central District of California and the Northern District of Illinois and the FBI's Chicago and Los Angeles field offices, among others.
The Justice Department noted that the charges in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. (Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
来源：美国司法部
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：美国司法部总部大楼入口（G. Edward Johnson 摄，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons；GSM 固定图库）。 / Photo: Entrance of the U.S. Department of Justice headquarters (G. Edward Johnson, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; GSM asset library).
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