Romanian Man Sentenced For Wire Fraud And Possession Of False Identity Documents

Orlando, Florida – Chief U.S. District Judge Anne C. Conway yesterday sentenced Mihaly Kulcsar (33, a citizen of Romania) to three years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and possession of false identity documents. As part of the judgment, the Court also ordered Kulcsar to pay $355,000 in restitution to his victims. He pleaded guilty on May 22, 2014.

According to court documents, Kulcsar was arrested in July 2013, at a Bank of America branch in Orlando, after he tried to open a bank account with fraudulent identification documents. Further investigation revealed that Kulcsar possessed fake passports and other fake identity documents in four different names, from Denmark, Finland, France, and the Slovak Republic. Kulcsar admitted that he had come to the United States with these fake documents and identities to open business accounts at several banks in central Florida. As part of his scheme, he targeted large banking institutions, including Bank of America, Fifth Third, Chase, SunTrust, Wells Fargo, and BB&T. Kulcsar obtained $355,000 during the course of the scheme, which he wired the money to his co-conspirators through overseas bank accounts.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bruce S. Ambrose.