California Man Is Sentenced To More Than Six Years In Prison For Bank Fraud And Aggravated Identity Theft

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced that Jihoon Sun, 48, of California, was sentenced to 75 months in prison and three years of supervised release for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. presided over yesterday’s sentencing hearing and also ordered Sun to pay $235,438 as restitution.

Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which oversees Charlotte, joins U.S. U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.

According to information contained in court documents and court proceedings, from November 2016 to May 2017, Sun and his co-conspirators used multiple victims’ stolen identities to execute a bank fraud scheme and to defraud several financial institutions.  Court records show that Sun and his co-conspirators stole the identities of legitimate bank account holders, including holders of home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), and used the stolen account holders’ identities to fraudulently obtain funds from the financial institutions through cash advances and cashiers’ checks. To perpetuate the fraud, Sun and others obtained fraudulent forms of identification in the identity victims’ names, including fake drivers’ licenses, fake paystubs, and fake proofs of insurance. Sun and his co-conspirators then deposited the stolen funds into other bank accounts, established using the stolen identities of another set of identity theft victims. These “straw accounts” were controlled by the conspirators, and were used to convert the funds to cash at bank branches located in Mecklenburg County. In this manner, the co-conspirators stole or attempted to steal more than $290,000 in cash and cashiers’ checks.

On July 2, 2019, Sun pleaded guilty to bank fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked USPIS for their investigation of this case and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for their assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Bozin, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.