An Essex County, New Jersey, man, Hakir Brown, 27, of Newark, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty in Newark federal court to an information charging him with conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Hakir Brown, Jahad Salter, 25, and Dashaun Brown, 31, engaged USPS employees, including Khadijah Banks Oneal, 31, to steal credit cards from the mail in exchange for compensation.
Once they obtained the stolen cards, Hakir Brown and his conspirators fraudulently posed as the accountholders of the stolen credit cards when calling the banks that issued the cards and used personal identifying information belonging to the accountholders to obtain or change information about the stolen credit cards.
They then used the stolen credit cards to make purchases at retail stores in New Jersey and elsewhere, including New York and online, resulting in attempted losses of over $300,000.
The charge of conspiracy to commit bank fraud carries a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum fine of $1 million. Sentencing is scheduled for July 7, 2022.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna credited postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service under the direction of Acting Inspector of Charge Raimundo Marrero, Newark Division; and special agents of the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Area Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modafferi, with the investigation leading to the charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara F. Merin of the Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.
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Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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