An indictment has been unsealed in the District of Utah, charging three individuals with multiple offenses related to a check fraud scheme. Pitshou Yunga Kafuku, 42, Beni Musogo Kahwara, 25, and Hugues Simo-Fotue, 42, face charges including bank fraud conspiracy, bank fraud, theft of government funds, passing fraudulent U.S. Treasury checks, possession of stolen mail, and money laundering.
Kafuku and Kahwara made their initial court appearances on April 22, 2025. They were ordered detained pending trial by Chief Magistrate Judge Dustin B. Pead. Simo-Fotue appeared before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in Salt Lake City on May 12, 2025.
According to the indictment's allegations, the defendants conspired with others to defraud U.S. banks by depositing counterfeit and stolen checks, including those from the U.S. Treasury. Court documents suggest that successful deposits were quickly transferred to different accounts or overseas locations such as China and Singapore. The alleged activities took place between January 2022 and February 2025 and resulted in over $3.1 million in fraud proceeds.
The case is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and U.S. Postal Inspection Service with assistance from the Utah Department of Public Safety.
Assistant United States Attorney Tanner Zumwalt is prosecuting the case for the District of Utah.
It should be noted that an indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
