Nikki Vancuren, age 51, of Amsterdam, New York, pled guilty on July 7 to attempted bank fraud in Albany federal court. The plea was announced on July 16 by First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Homeland Security Investigations Buffalo Office Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony Patrone.
According to the plea agreement, Vancuren admitted to using fraudulent passport cards over several months in 2022 and 2023 to withdraw or attempt to withdraw money from other people’s accounts at banks across New York State. On January 19, 2023, she presented a fraudulent passport card with her photograph but the identifying information of a real person and tried to withdraw $4,000 from an NBT bank branch in Johnson City.
“The Department of Justice’s Fraud Division was established to crack down on cases like this,” said Sarcone. “Those who seek personal profit by defrauding the system will be caught and held accountable. Because of her repeated actions, Ms. Vancuren is now facing up to 30 years in federal prison. I commend the Special Agents at HSI and their local partners for investigating this case and bringing the defendant to justice.”
Patrone said, “By repeatedly using fraudulent passport cards to access bank accounts that did not belong to her, this defendant attacked the integrity of our financial system and put innocent account holders at risk. Today’s guilty plea demonstrates that HSI Albany and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate those who perpetrate fraud. These crimes erode community trust and financial stability, and HSI remains firmly committed to uncovering, disrupting, and bringing to justice individuals involved in fraud wherever we find it.”
Vancuren faces up to 30 years’ imprisonment at sentencing scheduled for November 4, as well as a fine of up to $1 million and supervised release for up to five years. The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from Broome County Sheriff’s Office and Vestal Police Department; prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin S. Clark and Mikayla Espinosa.
The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York prosecutes federal criminal cases across an area covering more than thirty thousand square miles with about three point four million residents through offices located in Albany, Binghamton, Plattsburgh, and Syracuse; it includes about fifty Assistant United States Attorneys along with more than fifty support staff members; it also coordinates law enforcement initiatives designed both for public safety outreach efforts as well as defending civil matters on behalf of the United States, according to its official website.