Judge Sentences Philadelphia Man Who Used Twitter And Facebook For Bank Fraud And Identity Theft

PHILADELPHIA - Aaron Dashawn Caple, 23, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno to 54 months in federal prison following Caple’s convictions of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft offenses, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.

Caple pled guilty on April 13, 2016 and admitted to using social media services Twitter and Facebook to solicit persons to provide him with their bank ATM cards and PIN numbers so that he could deposit bad checks into their accounts and withdraw the funds before the banks and other financial institutions realized that the checks were bad.  Caple went to numerous ATM machines in Philadelphia and the surrounding area to make the deposits and withdrawals, and also used the ATM cards and PIN numbers at various stores, including Walmart, to purchase goods and obtain cash back prior to the banks discovering that the checks were bad.  Caple received more than $47,000 as a result of the scheme.   In addition to the prison term, he was ordered to pay restitution of $47,000.25 and must serve five years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael S. Lowe.