Two More Defendants Plead Guilty in Bank Fraud and Identity Theft Conspiracy

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Kani Bassie, age 36, of Brooklyn, New York, and Jermon Brooks, age 20, of Richmond, Virginia, pled guilty last week to their roles in a multi-million-dollar bank fraud conspiracy led by Oluwaseun Adekoya, age 39, a Nigerian citizen.  United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement.

Bassie and Brooks admitted that they were members of a conspiracy to defraud financial institutions all over the country by obtaining the personal identifying information (“PII”) of individuals and using lower-level “workers” to impersonate the identity-theft victims to conduct fraudulent banking transactions in their names.  Bassie and Brooks supervised and oversaw lower-level coconspirators who withdrew hundreds of thousands of dollars from identity-theft victims in the Northern District of New York and all over the country.  Bassie admitted to conspiring with alleged ringleader Adekoya to launder bank fraud proceeds in transactions designed to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the proceeds and to use bank fraud proceeds to reinvest in the ongoing conspiracy. 

Adekoya, the alleged ringleader of the conspiracy, faces trial beginning June 9, 2025 before United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino on a second superseding indictment charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, one count of money laundering conspiracy, and nine counts of aggravated identity theft. The charges against Adekoya in the second superseding indictment are merely accusations. He is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

“And then there was one,” United States Attorney Sarcone said.  “We look forward to trial. We appreciate the efforts of the FBI, and many other law enforcement partners across the country, in uncovering this scheme.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge Tremaroli stated: “The FBI takes very seriously our responsibility to investigate and pursue those who commit fraud for personal gain. We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who use illegal means and criminal behavior to take advantage of others.”

The prosecution is the result of an ongoing investigation led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and FBI Albany Field Office, which began after the May 2022 arrest of David Daniyan, a/k/a “Bamikole Laniyan,” a/k/a “David Enfield,” a/k/a “Africa,” age 60, of Brooklyn, New York, Gaysha Kennedy, age 46, of Brooklyn, and Victor Barriera, age 64, of the Bronx, New York, by the Cohoes Police Department after the trio traveled to the Capital Region to commit bank fraud.  According to documents previously filed in the case, the investigation has uncovered over $2 million in fraudulent transactions to date.  Thirteen defendants have pled guilty and forfeited hundreds of thousands of dollars in proceeds, luxury apparel, and jewelry.

At sentencing later this year, Bassie and Brooks face a maximum term of 30 years’ incarceration for the bank fraud conspiracy, Bassie faces a maximum term of 20 years’ incarceration for the money laundering conspiracy, and Bassie and Brooks face a mandatory consecutive term of 2 years’ incarceration for their convictions of aggravated identity theft.  The defendants will be ordered to pay restitution and will also face a term of post-incarceration supervised release of up to 5 years. 

FBI Albany is investigating the case, with assistance from the FBI Field Offices in New York, Newark, Richmond and Resident Agencies in Westchester, New York; Brooklyn/Queens, New York; Garrett Mountain, New Jersey; and Fort Walton Beach, Florida.  Additional assistance was provided by other law enforcement agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Enforcement & Removal Operations (New York Field Office & Albany sub-office); U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service (Buffalo Field Office & St. Albans Resident Office); U.S. Social Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General; New York law enforcement agencies including the New York State Police; Cohoes PD; Colonie PD; Elmira PD; Corning PD; Plattsburgh PD; Florida law enforcement agencies including the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office and Escambia County Sheriff’s Office; the Pennsylvania State Police; Alabama law enforcement agencies including the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office, Gasden PD, and Rainbow City PD; Georgia law enforcement agencies including the Georgia State Patrol, Bartow County Sheriff’s Office, and Morrow PD; Kansas law enforcement agencies including Lawrence PD and Overland Park PD; New Hampshire law enforcement agencies including Rochester PD, Manchester PD, and Amherst PD; the Delaware State Police; Maryland law enforcement agencies including the Maryland State Police, Harford County Sheriff’s Office and Baltimore County Sheriff’s Office; Wisconsin law enforcement agencies including Onalaska PD and Eau Claire PD; and Indiana law enforcement agencies including the Allen County Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant United States Attorneys Benjamin S. Clark, Mathew M. Paulbeck, and Joshua R. Rosenthal are prosecuting this case.