Emelyn Clough, Bank Fraud Conspiracy, Massachusetts 2021

A Saugus woman has been caught in a massive bank fraud scheme that swindled over $300,000 from unsuspecting customers.

Emelyn Clough, 24, pleaded guilty to her role in the conspiracy, which involved using fake identification documents and recruiting bank tellers to facilitate the withdrawals.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Clough opened a bank account in the name of a fictitious business using a counterfeit driver's license and recruited a TD Bank teller to participate in the scheme.

Between June and November 2017, co-conspirators used the bank account Clough opened and the bank teller Clough recruited to fraudulently obtain more than $300,000 from customer accounts.

Clough's scheme involved orchestrating a conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, up to five years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $1 million.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leslie A. Wright and Christopher J. Markham of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit.

Acting U.S. Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, announced the guilty plea.

The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on March 30, 2022.

The case arose out of an investigation into schemes to withdraw funds from customer accounts at several financial institutions, including TD Bank.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/saugus-woman-pleads-guilty-bank-fraud-conspiracy