Related Federal Cases
- Mateus Vaduva, Bank and Wire Fraud, MD 2021 · Washington
- Mateus Vaduva, Church Check Forgery, MD 2021 · Washington
- Bank Employee, Bank Fraud, New York 2024 · Washington
- Earl Hall, UCX Fraud, Pennsylvania 2023 · Pennsylvania
- Live Nation, Antitrust Lawsuit, New York NY, 2024 · New Mexico
Defendant Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud in Maryland
Greenbelt, Maryland – Mateus Vaduva, age 29, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty on November 17, 2021 to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, in connection with a scheme to steal from the mail donation checks intended for religious institutions.
According to his guilty plea, beginning in June 2018 to January 2021, Vaduva and his co-conspirators conspired to steal checks from the U.S. mail intended for religious institutions and deposit the illegally obtained funds into multiple fraudulent bank accounts at various victim financial institutions.
Conspirators, including Vaduva, conducted the thefts by driving to roadside mailboxes of churches and other religious institutions and removing the mail, specifically targeting donation checks.
As part of the scheme to defraud, Vaduva and other co-conspirators fraudulently opened bank accounts at victim financial institutions under false identities. Conspiracy members often opened fictitious bank accounts with the aid of a conspiracy member that was an employee at one of the victim financial institutions.
Vaduva and his co-conspirators then withdrew cash from the fraudulent bank accounts through ATMs and spent the illegally obtained proceeds using debit cards associated with the bank accounts.
Vaduva faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang has scheduled sentencing for February 18, 2022 at 2 p.m.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, HSI, the FDIC Office of Inspector General, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Cary (North Carolina) Police Department, and the Williamson County (Tennessee) Sheriff’s Office for their work in the investigation.
Key Facts
- State: Maryland
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News