Derrell Lee Sentenced in TD Bank Identity Theft Scheme

Derrell Lee, 25, of Atlanta, Georgia, is headed to federal prison for 32 months after being convicted in a brazen identity theft and bank fraud scheme that targeted TD Bank customers across Vermont. The sentence, handed down by Senior U.S. District Judge J. Garvan Murtha in Brattleboro, includes two years of supervised release following incarceration. Lee’s run of fraud spanned multiple states and relied on stolen personal and banking data obtained through a corrupt bank employee.

Court records reveal the scheme began in August 2015 when Kirsta Dixon, a teller at a TD Bank branch in Atlantic City, New Jersey, leaked account details of approximately 34 customers to Laurel Wells in exchange for cash. Derrell Lee then weaponized that information, traveling to New York and Vermont to cash or attempt to cash $33,000 worth of fraudulent checks. Posing as legitimate account holders, Lee used stolen identities and matching forged documents to pass himself off as someone he wasn’t—at least for a time.

Between August 8 and August 13, 2015, Lee hit eight TD Bank branches, often dressed in a distinctive purple suit that made him stand out. He successfully cashed a $4,700 check in Fishkill, New York, on August 8, then tried and failed to cash a $4,500 check the same day in South Hills. Days later, he struck Vermont: $4,700 in Montpelier, $4,800 in Woodstock, attempted $4,800 withdrawals in Waterbury and Barre, and another $4,800 cashed in Richmond—all using stolen identities.

Lee’s spree ended on August 13, 2015, when he attempted to cash a $4,800 check at the TD Bank in Williston, Vermont. Law enforcement arrested him on the spot. During the arrest, officers found a check made out to one of the compromised New Jersey accountholders, a withdrawal slip, a forged New Jersey driver’s license bearing Lee’s photo but the victim’s name, and a Capital One credit card in the victim’s name. Fingerprint analysis tied both Lee and Laurel Wells to the slip.

State prosecutors in Vermont initially filed charges against Lee in each jurisdiction where the fraud occurred. He posted bond in August 2015 but vanished, leading to a warrant issued in January 2016 for failure to appear. That same month, federal authorities stepped in, charging Lee with bank fraud and aggravated identity theft on January 29, 2016. He pleaded guilty to both counts on June 22, 2016—triggering a mandatory two-year consecutive sentence for the identity theft charge.

The U.S. Secret Service led the investigation, aided by police departments in Williston, Richmond, Waterbury, Montpelier, Barre, and Woodstock, Vermont, as well as Atlantic City, New Jersey. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin J. Doyle prosecuted the case. Lee was represented by David L. McColgin of the Federal Defender’s Office in Burlington. Criminal proceedings against Kirsta Dixon and Laurel Wells remain pending in the Superior Court of New Jersey.