California Man Sentenced To 61 Months For Bank Fraud And Identity Theft Scheme

RICHMOND, Va. – Anthony Romey Carter, 52, of Elk Grove, California, was sentenced today to 61 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.  He was also ordered to pay $226,677.00 in restitution to Wells Fargo Bank.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and William G. Frantzen, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior United States District Judge Robert E. Payne.

“Defendant Carter stole from Wells Fargo Bank and the account holders who entrusted their money to that institution,” said United States Attorney Neil H. MacBride.  “Theft of identities and funds will not be tolerated and we are committed to prosecuting these twenty-first century thefts.”

Carter pleaded guilty on May 10, 2013.  According to court documents, Carter admitted to participating in a conspiracy involving the unauthorized withdrawal of hundreds of thousands of dollars from accounts held at Wells Fargo Bank.  Members of the conspiracy created false forms of identification for several Wells Fargo accountholders using personal identifying information obtained without lawful authority.  Between November 2012 and December 2012, Carter traveled from California to bank branches in Virginia and South Carolina, where he posed as the individual accountholders.  Using customer account information and false forms of identification, Carter personally withdrew over $225,000 from numerous Wells Fargo accounts.  Carter and his co-conspirators divided the stolen proceeds among themselves following the withdrawals.            

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service.  Assistant United States Attorneys Dominick S. Gerace and Michael Gill prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.