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Press Release

Fourth Defendant Pleads Guilty in Bank Fraud Conspiracy Targeting Capital Region Credit Union

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of New York

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Allahson Allah, formerly known as Gwyn Cancer, age 53, of Albany, pled guilty today to conspiring to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.  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. 

In a plea before United States District Judge Anne M. Nardacci, Allah admitted that between February and October 2022, he organized a conspiracy to defraud SEFCU by, among other things, applying for loans using stolen identities of real people, and withdrawing the money in cash.  Allah admitted that lower-level members of the conspiracy applied for loans in other people’s names using fake New York driver’s licenses with their photographs but bearing the names and dates of birth of other people, and the proceeds were given to Allah.  Allah further admitted that the conspiracy netted $113,800 in fraudulent cash withdrawals. 

Allah was previously charged by an indictment, along with Evan Cutler, of Queensbury, New York, Davon Parson, of Albany, and Dnauticah Taylor-Sterman, of Albany.   According to the indictment and statements made by prosecutors in court, the conspirators obtained customer account information from Caeshara Cannon, of Albany, a former Member Service Manager at SEFCU, and used that information to create counterfeit checks, which were presented for negotiation at SEFCU branches in the Northern District of New York.  The conspirators also obtained personal identifying information of others, which they used to fraudulently obtain loans from SEFCU and then withdraw the proceeds in cash.

Allah will be sentenced on October 21, 2024. The charges to which Allah pled guilty carry a minimum term of 2 years in prison and a maximum term of 32 years, a fine of up to $1.25 million, and a supervised release term of up to 5 years. He has also agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $113,800, and to entry of a forfeiture money judgment in the same amount. 

Allah is the fourth defendant in the conspiracy to plead guilty, following previous pleas by Cannon, Parson, and Taylor-Sterman.  Cutler is charged in the indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and four counts of aggravated identity theft.  Those charges remain pending. The charges in the indictment against Cutler are merely accusations. Cutler is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

HSI is investigating the case, with assistance from the Bethlehem Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin S. Clark is prosecuting this case.

Updated June 17, 2024

Topics
Financial Fraud
Identity Theft