St. Louis, MO - DORA ARGYROPOULOS was indicted for executing a scheme to defraud American banks by opening accounts for sham businesses and incurring more than a million dollars in overdrafts on those accounts from abroad.
According to the indictment, Argyropoulos and her confederates registered numerous businesses and fictitious registrations with state authorities in order to be able to apply for checking accounts at no fewer than ten American banks. These businesses, however, never had any substantial operations. Instead, Argyropoulos and her confederates would return to Greece and utilize debit cards connected to the businesses’ accounts to cause massive overdrafts for travel and entertainment expenses. The transactions were timed in such a way as to take advantage of American banking procedures relating to the debiting and posting of such expenses. As a result, Argyropoulos and her confederates incurred overdrafts and overdraft fees on the accounts totaling at least $1,745,405.
Argyropoulos, of Athens, Greece, was arrested on November 9 in Miami, Florida, upon her entry into the country. Late yesterday, she was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Missouri on two felony counts of bank fraud, one felony count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit those crimes.
If convicted, each count of the indictment carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and/or fines up to $1 million. In determining the actual sentences, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Secret Service. Assistant United States Attorney Richard Finneran is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
As is always the case, charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
