ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Five men have pleaded guilty to multiple felonies arising from a five-year conspiracy to defraud banks by manufacturing fraudulent checks using compromised account information and to deposit the checks into bank accounts under false identities.
The following men have pleaded guilty to felonies arising from this conspiracy: Ray Ekobena, 27, of Alexandria; Stefan Ekobena, 24, of Atlanta; Rodney Hardy, 25, of Hyattsville, Maryland; Alan Lamin, 25, of Washington, D.C.; and Jerome Johnson, 32, of Washington, D.C.
According to statements of fact filed with the plea agreements, Ray Ekobena and his younger brother, Stefan Ekobena, printed fraudulent checks using victims’ bank account information. The Ekobenas’ obtained this information by enlisting bank tellers and other insiders who had access to sensitive personal information through their employment. Co-conspirators such as Hardy, Lamin, and Johnson furthered the conspiracy by depositing the fraudulent checks into bank accounts under false names and withdrawing the resulting funds before the banks discovered the fraud. Ray Ekobena also obtained loans in the names of his identity theft victims to buy luxury vehicles, including a Mercedes-Benz, a Porsche, and an Audi. In total, the conspiracy victimized over 200 individuals, small businesses, and charities, including the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Children’s National Medical Center.
The defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury on June 25, 2015. For the bank fraud conspiracy, they each face a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison when sentenced in November 2015. Ray and Stefan Ekobena will also receive a mandatory two-year sentence for their convictions for aggravated identity theft. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; David G. Bowers, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Colonel Edwin C. Roessler Jr., Chief of the Fairfax County Police Department, made the announcement after the final plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kellen S. Dwyer and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph V. Longobardo are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:15-cr-180.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
