Erm Ayaz, Bank Fraud, New Jersey 2021

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Table of Contents

New Jersey Woman Pleads Guilty in $10 Million Bank Fraud Scheme

TRENTON, N.J. – Erm Ayaz, 36, of Bayside, Brooklyn, pleaded guilty today by videoconference before Chief Judge Freda L. Wolfson to an information charging her with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Ayaz is among seven individuals that have pleaded guilty as part of the scheme, which involved defrauding several major banks and electronic merchant processors of approximately $10 million dollars, causing losses of approximately $3.5 million.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Ayaz and others conspired to establish bank accounts associated with sham entities that had no legitimate purpose and issued checks payable to other shell companies associated with the criminal organization.

Members of the conspiracy also conducted numerous fraudulent credit card and debit card transactions between shell companies to credit payee accounts and fraudulently overdraw payor accounts, causing the banks and merchant processors to suffer substantial losses.

Ayaz’s sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 14, 2021. She faces a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison, a fine of $1 million or twice the gross gain to the defendants or loss to others, whichever is greater.

The investigation into the scheme was conducted by inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, and special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Mateo of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit in Newark.