In a brazen case of public corruption, Brandon Santanoo, a 27-year-old employee of the New York City Law Department, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud in connection with a check theft scheme that netted over $600,000.
According to the Department of Justice, Santanoo, of Queens Village, New York, stole checks mailed to the Law Department, including those made payable to the Law Department’s Worker’s Compensation Division, between June 2021 and May 2023. He then passed the checks onto other people, who deposited or attempted to deposit forged, altered, and fraudulently endorsed versions of those checks into third parties’ bank accounts.
Approximately 40 checks, totaling approximately $600,000, were stolen and deposited or attempted to be deposited as part of the scheme. Santanoo’s actions were a clear breach of trust, and his guilty plea serves as a reminder that corruption will not be tolerated within city agencies.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated, “Brandon Santanoo abused his position of trust as a city employee. As he admitted today in federal court, he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of checks made payable to the Law Department and passed them along to others to fraudulently deposit. We will not tolerate any breach of trust or corruption within city agencies.”
DOI Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber added, “Brandon Santanoo used his position at the City Law Department to steal approximately 40 checks payable to the City – and valued at approximately $600,000 – and then handed them out to acquaintances to forge, alter, or fraudulently endorse the checks and then deposit into private bank accounts.”
Santanoo faces a maximum potential sentence of 30 years in prison for his role in the scheme. Sentencing is scheduled for September 4, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman. The case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Simon in charge of the prosecution.
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Public Corruption|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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