Anthony C. Innarella, Bank Fraud and Identity Theft, Connecticut 2017

A Pennsylvania man has pleaded guilty to bank fraud and identity theft offenses in federal court, according to court documents.

Anthony C. Innarella, 63, formerly of Kunkletown, Pennsylvania, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden to bank fraud and identity theft offenses.

The scheme, which occurred between October 2016 and May 2017, involved Innarella and another individual using fake driver’s licenses and credit cards to register phony businesses with municipal offices and county clerks to obtain trade name certificates. They also obtained Employer Identification Numbers (“EINs”) from the Internal Revenue Service in the names of the phony businesses.

Using the fraudulent identifications, trade name certificates, and EINs, Innarella and the other individual traveled to banks in Connecticut, Delaware, Virginia, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and elsewhere to open new business bank accounts. Numerous fraudulent accounts were linked to legitimate accounts of the people whose identities Innarella and the other individual had used.

Through this scheme, more than $1 million was transferred into the fraudulent business bank accounts, and Innarella and the other individual withdrew cash and cashier’s checks totaling approximately $363,000 from the accounts.

Innarella was arrested on April 5, 2017, by the Fairfield Police Department in connection with a fraudulent bank account he had opened at a Wells Fargo Bank branch in Fairfield. At the time of his arrest, he and his co-conspirator possessed numerous counterfeit driver’s licenses and credit cards in other individuals’ names, several cellphones bearing sticker labels with the names of different individuals, more than $34,000 in cash, and other items connecting him to a bank fraud and identity theft scheme.

Innarella has been detained in federal custody since June 13, 2019. Prior to that date, he was in state custody in Connecticut and New Jersey. He pleaded guilty to one count conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years, and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory consecutive term of imprisonment of two years.

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