Alameda Man Indicted On Charges Stemming From Theft Of $800,000 From Prepaid Debit Cards

SAN FRANCISCO – A federal grand jury has indicted Nathan Wu-Falkenborg on 15 counts of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with the alleged theft of funds from prepaid debit cards. Wu-Falkenborg made an initial appearance in federal district court today.

According to the indictment filed June 4, 2025, and unsealed today, Wu-Falkenborg, 49, of Alameda, worked in fraud prevention at a company that administered a prepaid debit card program. Known as Direct Express, the program allowed recipients of federal benefits to access their benefits through a prepaid debit card account. Between September 2021 and March 2022, Wu-Falkenborg allegedly used his access to confidential account information to activate and use numerous Direct Express accounts that had been funded but did not appear to be in use. The indictment describes that Wu-Falkenborg fraudulently obtained approximately $800,000 from these Direct Express accounts by way of several hundred ATM withdrawals around the Bay Area and online transactions.

Wu-Falkenborg is also charged with the unauthorized use of a Direct Express customer’s identity to open various accounts that he used to execute the scheme and unlawfully using debit cards associated with two victim customers.

United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian and FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani made the announcement.

Wu-Falkenborg was released on bond. He is scheduled to appear in district court on July 9, 2025, for a status conference before U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer.          

Wu-Falkenborg is charged with 12 counts of bank fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344(1), (2) and three counts of aggravated identity theft in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1). An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million for each bank fraud charge, and a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each aggravated identity theft charge. Any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared Buszin and Charles Bisesto are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Tina Rosenbaum. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI.