Leader in a Sophisticated Bank Fraud Scheme Sentenced To 7 Years in Prison

Greenbelt, Maryland - Chief U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Bolarinwa Adeyale, a/k/a “Bola,” age 23, of Greenbelt, Maryland, today to seven years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, in connection with a scheme to use stolen credit card convenience checks and counterfeit checks to defraud financial institutions. Adeyale was convicted by a federal jury on February 27, 2012, of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, two counts of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Postal Inspector in Charge Gary R. Barksdale of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; and Special Agent in Charge David Beach of the United States Secret Service – Washington Field Office.

According to evidence presented at the five day trial, in the fall of 2007 Adeyale; Okechukwo Otuya a/k/a Oke and Waffi; Oluwadamilola Feyisetan, a/k/a Dami (Dami); Adeniyi Adebiyi, a/k/a Niyi (Niyi); Alexander Diya and others devised a scheme to defraud Bank of America by depositing stolen credit card convenience checks into legitimate Bank of America accounts and withdrawing the money before the bank learned that the checks were not authorized. Adeyale, Otuya and Dami were among the leaders in the scheme. Adeyale, Otuya, Dami and Niyi obtained the convenience checks by stealing them from homeowners’ mailboxes in Montgomery, Howard and Prince George’s Counties. Adeyale and others also recruited college students to permit the use of the students’ bank accounts (the “compromised accounts”) to deposit stolen credit card convenience checks and make cash withdrawals from the accounts after the checks cleared. Adeyale and others also recruited bank employees to provide account information for “high end” bank customers, including the account name and numbers, customer’s signature cards or previously negotiated checks with appropriate signatures, and the customer’s address. Adeyale and others then used that information to create fraudulent checks for those accounts.

According to trial evidence, as a result of the scheme, the total amount of fraudulent deposits made by the conspirators from over 50 compromised bank accounts is over $1.2 million. The actual loss to Bank of America is over $600,000.

Otuya, age 31, of Laurel, Maryland, was sentenced to eight years in prison and was ordered to pay restitution, with the exact amount to be determined. Adebiyi, age 28, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $148,000. Feyisetan, age 24, of Laurel; Alexander Omotomiwa Diya, age 25, of Bowie; and Taiwo Akinyeke, age 28, of Laurel, were sentenced to 30 months, 28 months, and 15 months in prison, respectively, and were ordered to pay restitution of $33,135.58, $4,250, and $48,555.85.

In addition, co-conspirators Charles G. Richardson, Jr., age 26, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, was sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $7,330.12; Oladipo Ayodeji, age 23, of Bowie, was sentenced to 14 months in prison in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $24,543.47; and Kennika Freeman, age 23, of Greenbelt, and Malia Forrester, age 31, of Millersville, Maryland, were each sentenced to five years’ probation. Marquis Borden, age 25, of Laurel, Maryland has pleaded guilty to his participation in the scheme and is awaiting sentencing.

This law enforcement action is part of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Secret Service for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein praised Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur, who prosecuted the case.