Boston Man Sentenced for Identity Theft in Scheme to Defraud Retirement Accounts

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Boston Man Sentenced for Identity Theft in Scheme to Defraud Retirement Accounts

The following press release was published by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys on May 31, 2017. It is reproduced in full below.

BOSTON - A Boston man was sentenced today for his role in a scheme to steal personal information and bank account numbers to withdraw money from retirement accounts.

Kevin Marseille, 26, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris to 18 months in prison, one year of supervised release and ordered to pay $19,741. In February 2017, Marseille pleaded guilty to identity theft, access device fraud and conspiracy to commit those offenses.

In 2014, Marseille approached Jasmine Banks, who, at the time, worked as a customer service employee at Mercer Inc. in Norwood, Mass. Marseille used Banks to obtain personally identifiable information and bank account information for individuals whose retirement accounts were administered by Mercer, a New York-based company that provides consulting and related services for employers, including administration of retirement benefit plans.

From approximately February 2014 to April 2014, Banks accessed customer account information from her computer and provided this information to Marseille via email. Marseille obtained the names, addresses, and bank account and routing numbers for approximately 270 Mercer account holders. In many cases, he also obtained account holders’ dates of birth and social security numbers. He further sought and obtained detailed account access information, including usernames, answers to password-reset questions, and detailed instructions about how to access and withdraw funds from four retirement accounts with substantial balances.

The retirement account information was used to load a prepaid card with nearly $20,000 in fraudulently obtained funds. Marseille then used the prepaid card to purchase electronic goods and other products at retailers, including Target and Best Buy. Intervention by Mercer and law enforcement prevented further account access and withdrawals. Mercer has cooperated fully with the government’s investigation.

In March 2016, Banks pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud and identity theft and was sentenced in April 2017 to four years of probation, with six months to be served in home confinement, and ordered to pay $19,741 in restitution.

Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb and Stephen A. Marks, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. D’Addio of Weinreb’s Cybercrime Unit prosecuted the case.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys

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