Mountee Brown, a former bank teller from Clinton, Maryland, has pled guilty to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. The charges involve a scheme to steal more than $250,000 from bank customers. This plea was announced by Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, together with Jeffrey D. Pittano, Special Agent in Charge at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General, Mid-Atlantic Region.
Working at Bank A in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, Brown had access to five victims' bank accounts. Between October and November 2022, Brown and his partners carried out unauthorized cash withdrawals from these accounts. Notably, four of the victims were over 80 years old.
The fraudulent scheme began on October 21, 2022, when Co-conspirator #1 withdrew $10,000 from Victim #1’s account with the cooperation of Brown. This act involved falsely documenting the withdrawal as legitimate, including false customer verification and signatures.
The illegal activity continued with two withdrawals totaling $20,000 on October 22, 2022. Brown deposited $4,300 of this sum into a different financial institution account.
On October 25, 2022, Co-conspirator #2, assisted by Brown, withdrew $10,000 from Victim #2’s account and later another $10,000 from Victim #3’s account, under similar false pretenses as earlier transactions.
In addition to participating in these fraudulent activities, Brown deposited approximately $30,200 into his own account by December 6, 2022. The total amount involved in the scheme was around $255,000.
U.S. Attorney Hayes has acknowledged the efforts of the FDIC-OIG in the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean R. Delaney and Darren Gardner.
Further information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office can be found on their website.
