Two Defendants Plead Guilty to Roles in Conspiracy Targeting Credit Union

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Davon Parson, age 20, of Albany, and Dnauticah Taylor-Sterman, age 21, of Albany, have pled guilty 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 separate pleas before United States District Judge Anne M. Nardacci, Parson and Taylor-Sterman each admitted that between February and October 2022, they were members of a conspiracy to defraud SEFCU by, among other things, applying for loans using stolen identities of real people and withdrawing the loaned money in cash.  Both Parson and Taylor-Sterman admitted that they 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. Taylor-Sterman pled guilty today and Parson pled guilty on January 10, 2024.

Parson and Taylor-Sterman were previously charged by an indictment, along with Evan Cutler and Allahson Allah, formerly known as Gwyn Cancer. According to the indictment and statements made by prosecutors in court, the conspirators obtained customer account information from Caeshara Cannon, age 33, 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 real people, which they used to fraudulently obtain loans from SEFCU, and then withdrew the proceeds in cash.

The charges to which Parson and Taylor-Sterman 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.  Parson will be sentenced on May 10, 2024 and Taylor-Sterman will be sentenced on May 17, 2024. 

Cannon pled guilty on September 14, 2023 to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.  She is scheduled for sentencing on July 12, 2024.

The following charges remain pending against the following individuals:

• Allah, age 53, of Albany, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

• Cutler, age 24, of Queensbury, New York, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and four counts of aggravated identity theft.

As to these defendants, the charges in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendants are 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.