Six Massachusetts Men Arrested for Alleged Roles in Bank Fraud Ring

BOSTON – Six Massachusetts men have been charged and arrested in connection with a multi-million-dollar scheme to defraud banks in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. 

The following individuals have been indicted on one count each of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering:

1. Phalentz Vernot, 24, of Waltham, who was also indicted on one count of aggravated identity theft;
2. Selby Okai, 23, of Worcester;
3. Yves Bissainthe, 23, of Randolph;
4. Marvin Kimani, 24, of Lowell;
5. Keith Wainaina, 23, of Lowell; and
6. Victor Kolawole, 25, of Brockton.

All six defendants were arrested this morning and appeared in federal court in Boston.  

According to the charging documents, from at least December 2022 through the present, the defendants allegedly obtained, without authorization,  the names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and bank account numbers of customers of various local banks; recruited individuals to pose as those customers; obtained fake identification documents with the victim customers’ names but the imposters’ photos; drove the imposters to banks in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island, where the imposters presented the fake identification documents and withdrew large sums from the victim customers’ accounts in the form of Cashier’s checks; deposited those checks into bank accounts defendants and their co-conspirators controlled; and transferred the money to other bank accounts they controlled. The defendants allegedly recruited bank insiders to facilitate their scheme, including by providing them access to victim customers’ information and disabling account notifications that would have alerted customers to the unauthorized withdrawals. 

The charges of bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud provide for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of $1 million or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $500,000 or twice the amount of money involved in the laundering transactions, whichever is greater. The charge of aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two-year prison sentence consecutive to any sentence received on the other charges. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and P.J. O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New Haven Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Connecticut State Police; Glocester (RI), Sutton, Concord (Mass.), Dracut, Westwood and Abington Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Kearney of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case. 

The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.