Bank Employee Sentenced for Fraudulently Withdrawing Customer Funds

Greenbelt, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Regan Christopher Tsoi-A-Sue, age 29, of Washington, D.C., today to 30 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft arising from a scheme to fraudulently obtain money from customer bank accounts.  Judge Grimm also entered an order that Tsoi-A-Sue pay restitution of $87,350.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge Andre R. Watson of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

According to his plea agreement, Tsoi-A-Sue worked at Capital One as a relationship banker, at a branch on Wisconsin Avenue in Washington, D.C.  He was assigned a unique user ID and password which allowed him to access and change customer accounts on Capital One’s computer system.

From September 9, 2011 to April 22, 2013, Tsoi-A-Sue fraudulently linked four temporary debit cards and one debit card of a closed bank account (the Debit Cards) in Capital One’s computer system to open bank accounts belonging to other persons.  He also changed the pin number or increased the daily withdrawal limit, or both, of the Debit Cards.  Tsoi-A-Sue then made and attempted to make transactions with the Debit Cards to withdraw funds from ATMs.

For example, on October 27, 2012, Tsoi-A-Sue fraudulently linked a Capital One Debit Card belonging to a closed bank account, to another Capital One savings account.  On December 9, 2012, he used the Capital One Debit Card to withdraw $500 from the savings account at an ATM. 

During the course of the scheme, Tsoi-A-Sue fraudulently withdrew $87,350.

Today’s announcement is part of the efforts undertaken in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.  The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.  With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices, and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud.  Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations.  Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants.  For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the HSI Baltimore for its work in the investigation and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas A. Mitchell, who prosecuted the case