New York Man Indicted on Bank Fraud Conspiracy, Producing/Passing Fictitious Obligations, Access Device Fraud, and Aggravated Identity Theft

WILMINGTON – Robert J. Higdon, Jr., the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announced that a Federal grand jury in Wilmington returned a seven-count indictment charging GIANNI ARMANI VINCENT, age 20, of Brooklyn, New York, with one count of Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud, two counts of Producing/Passing Fictitious Obligations, two counts of Access Device Fraud, and two counts of Aggravated Identity Theft. 

The indictment alleges that beginning in or around September 2016, and continuing until in or around March 2018, VINCENT and his co-conspirators engaged in a scheme to defraud financial institutions out of money by producing and depositing counterfeit checks into conspirator bank accounts.  Additionally, VINCENT is alleged to have been involved in access device fraud by possessing numbers that granted him access to the bank accounts of unsuspecting consumers.  According to evidence and testimony presented at VINCENT’s recent detention hearing, when the Cary Police Department and United States Secret Service encountered VINCENT on December 1, 2017, he was in possession of over two-hundred counterfeit checks, a computer with check-writing software, approximately twenty-five counterfeit cards, and more than fifty account numbers, among other things.     

If convicted on all counts, VINCENT could face a maximum penalty of sixty-seven years imprisonment, a $1,750,000 fine, and a term of supervised release following any term of imprisonment.  His arraignment is currently scheduled for September 2018.   

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

The case is being investigated by the United States Secret Service.