Bronx Man Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Antonio Vargas, age 58, of the Bronx, New York, pled guilty today in connection with a scheme to defraud five banks by using fake identifications to fraudulently withdraw funds at bank branches throughout the Capital Region.

United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Matthew Scarpino, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), made the announcement.

Vargas pled guilty to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.  He admitted that in June and July 2022, he presented counterfeit U.S. passport cards and driver’s licenses with his photograph, but with the names and other personal information of real customers of Trustco Bank, Pioneer Bank, Broadview Federal Credit Union, Adirondack Trust Bank and Saratoga National Bank and Trust Company. He fraudulently withdrew a total of $58,000 from the customers’ accounts in Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Schenectady Counties.

Vargas was arrested by Saratoga Springs Police Department on July 13, 2022, after he unsuccessfully attempted to withdraw funds from a Saratoga National Bank branch, and has remained in federal custody since then.

Vargas is scheduled to be sentenced on April 16, 2024, by United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino. The bank fraud conviction carries a maximum term of 30 years in prison and a maximum fine of up to $1 million. The aggravated identity theft conviction carries a mandatory term of 2 years in prison, to be imposed consecutively to any other term of imprisonment. The court may also require Vargas to serve a term of supervised release of up to 5 years to begin after imprisonment.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statutes the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.

This case was investigated by HSI with assistance from the New York State Police, the U.S. Secret Service, Bethlehem Police Department, North Greenbush Police Department, Rotterdam Police Department, Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office, Saratoga Springs Police Department and Scotia Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Emmet J. O’Hanlon is prosecuting this case.