PHILADELPHIA - A Reading man, and sixth member of a Reading area bank fraud ring, was charged with fraud today, announced U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain.
A criminal information[1] was filed charging, Angel Ocasio, Jr., 20, of Reading, Pennsylvania, with one count of bank fraud. Ocasio is alleged to be a member of a bank fraud ring operated by Steven Ronald Randall of Philadelphia.
Randall previously pled guilty on March 15, 2018 to one count of bank fraud and five counts of aggravated identity theft before U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Leeson, Jr. As part of his guilty plea Randall admitted that he was a leader of a scheme to defraud First National Bank and used persons to open bank accounts and obtain ATM debit cards so that their bank accounts could be used to deposit fraudulent checks and withdraw cash before FNB determined that the checks were fraudulent. Randall had also admitted that FNB sustained actual losses in excess of $76,519, with intended losses of in excess of $115,782, as a result of this scheme. Randall had also admitted that he transferred funds from the accounts opened by his co-schemers to inmates incarcerated within the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.
The information filed today alleges that Ocasio opened an account at FNB that he knew would be used to deposit fraudulent checks and withdraw cash before the bank discovered that the checks were fraudulent, in return for a share of the fraud proceeds.
“This was a sophisticated scheme that took excellent investigative work to unravel," said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “Punishing financial fraud - as well as identity theft - is and will continue to be a top priority of my office."
Ocasio faces a maximum sentence of 30 years’ incarceration, a five-year period of supervised release, and a fine of $1,000,000.
Ocasio is the sixth member charged as part of this group. In addition to Ocasio and Randall, the other members of the bank fraud ring previously charged are Jaylen Jefferson, 19, of Reading, Dawson Thomas, 19, of Mohnton, Rebecca Ilie, 25, of Reading, and Linda Pacheco, 40, of Reading.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Cumru Township Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael S. Lowe.
[1] An Indictment or Information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
