PROVIDENCE, RI – Another former bank employee has cracked, admitting to a federal judge she willingly handed over sensitive customer data to a criminal ringleader, fueling a $330,000 fraud scheme. Isha-Lee Savage, 24, of Providence, Rhode Island, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, adding another layer of culpability to a case already riddled with betrayal from within the financial system.
According to court documents, Savage, while employed at Santander Bank, wasn’t just a passive observer. She actively accessed customer information – names, account details, the works – and sent screenshots directly to her co-conspirators. That information became the raw material for counterfeit checks, orchestrated by Richard Koboi, who recruited accomplices through Facebook, offering them a cut in exchange for depositing the fraudulent funds into accounts they controlled.
The scheme wasn’t limited to check fraud. Savage also exploited her position in the bank’s call center, tricking customers into revealing their debit card information. That data, predictably, landed in the hands of Koboi and his crew, who used it for unauthorized purchases. This wasn’t a victimless crime; real people had their financial lives upended by Savage’s greed and Koboi’s manipulation.
This admission comes on the heels of a similar guilty plea from Savonnah Briggs, 28, a former employee of Citizens Bank. Briggs, like Savage, allegedly pilfered customer banking information and check images, feeding it to Koboi for the creation of more fraudulent checks. The pattern is clear: inside jobs were critical to the conspiracy’s success. After the checks cleared, Koboi and his crew quickly withdrew cash from ATMs and bank tellers, attempting to vanish with the stolen funds.
Koboi himself pleaded guilty last April to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, ten counts of bank fraud, and possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. He received a three-year federal prison sentence in December 2022 – a penalty that now feels hollow as more accomplices come forward. Savage and Briggs now face sentencing; Briggs is scheduled for April 25, 2023, and Savage on May 2, 2023. Their fates will be determined by a federal judge considering sentencing guidelines and other legal factors.
The investigation, a collaborative effort between the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, FBI, Secret Service, ATF, Rhode Island State Police, Providence Police Department, and Delaware State Police, continues to highlight the vulnerability of financial institutions to internal threats. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ly T. Chin is prosecuting the case, seeking to hold all involved accountable for their roles in this calculated fraud.
Related Federal Cases
- Richard Koboi, Bank Fraud, Providence RI, 2022 · Michigan
- Maximillian Mwah, Bank Fraud, Providence RI, 2023 · Delaware
- Savonnah Briggs, Bank Fraud, Providence RI, 2023 · Delaware
- Savonnah Briggs, Bank Fraud Conspiracy, Rhode Island 2023 · New York
- Maximilian Mwah, Check Fraud, Providence RI, 2022 · New York
Key Facts
- Agency: ATF
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Press Release
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