Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced charges against eight individuals in a "massive" $8.8 million bank fraud ring on Wednesday. The attorney general said the scheme started after three bank employees began sharing and selling bank account information of senior customers through an encrypted mobile messaging app.
“Today, we announced the takedown of eight criminals who targeted seniors and stole $8.8 million from over 230 victims. They’re facing charges such as RICO, criminal use of personal information, and other serious felonies,” Uthmeier said in a press release. “I’m grateful for the hard work of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office in hunting these fraudsters down. Our Office of Statewide Prosecution will now get to work and hold them accountable.”
According to the release, a law enforcement investigation found that the defendants allegedly used victims’ names, dates of birth, Social Security Numbers, and bank account information to transfer money into accounts the defendants opened. They then supposedly expended the stolen funds amongst themselves or made purchases which included buying a new car.
Later, investigators traced the source of the stolen information allegedly back to three bank employees in Maryland: Barbara Frazee, Camala Shafer, and Antonio Penn. They also said Penn allegedly used his co-workers’ credentials to log into the bank system to access bank user information, then sold the information via an encrypted messaging mobile app to other conspirators.
Penn is charged with multiple felonies, including racketeering, conspiracy to commit RICO, organized fraud, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, criminal use of personal identification information, and access to a computer without authorization. He was arrested in Maryland on a Polk County warrant, and he was transferred to Polk County Jail on a $1,020,000 bond.
Frazee was also booked on a slew of felony charges, including conspiracy to commit RICO, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, and access to a computer without authorization. A warrant was issued by Polk County for her arrest in West Virginia, and she was transferred to the Polk County Jail on a $260,000 bond.
Moreover, Shafer was charged with felony access to a computer without authorization. She was released from Pok County Jail on June 30 after posting $10,000 bond.
Okeroghene Akushe, Michael Nevarez, Roshado Durrant, Hassan Phillips, and Kevin Clayton were also charged with various felonies in the scheme. Nevarez, Durrant, and Clayton are listed in the release as being from Lakeland.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office was joined by multiple Florida and out-of-state law enforcement agencies in the investigation.
“This wasn’t some small-time scam; this was a well-organized fraud ring stealing millions from innocent victims across the country,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said. “They thought they could hide behind mobile apps and fake accounts, but we found them, and we’ll continue to go after anyone who targets hardworking people’s life savings. Racketeering is a serious crime, and we will pursue as many felonies as possible against each one of these suspects.”
