A Chicago couple has been charged in a brazen scheme to defraud a North Pole restaurant of over $128,000.
According to court documents, Jacob Centeno, 39, and Amber Davila, 35, allegedly obtained banking and identification information for the restaurant and owner by gaining access to their email in July and August 2022.
The defendants used this information to misrepresent themselves as the owner and divert proceeds from the owner’s bank account to a different account registered under a false identity that the defendants created and had access to.
In total, roughly $128,246 was diverted to the defendants’ fraudulent bank account between August 4 and August 9, 2022.
As part of the scheme, Centeno and Davila allegedly purchased over $41,000 worth of money orders from the fraudulent bank account over the course of multiple days in Chicago. They then deposited the money orders into their various personal and business accounts in aggregate amounts of less than $10,000.
Finally, to further conceal their scheme, they withdrew money from a business account registered in their names and deposited it into their personal accounts.
Centeno and Davila were arrested in Chicago on June 4 and are charged with one count of aggravated identity theft, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, five counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and eight counts of money laundering.
If convicted, they face a mandatory minimum of two years for aggravated identity theft, which is served consecutive to any other sentence for their alleged crimes.
Related Federal Cases
- Demetrick Ruffin, Wire Fraud Conspiracy, Alaska 2010 · Pennsylvania
- McKenzie Marie Earley, $10M Wire Fraud, C.D. California, 2023 · Pennsylvania
- Consuelo “Connie” Puente, Wire Fraud, CA, 2023 · Pennsylvania
- Jeffry Hill Charged with Mail and Wire Fraud, Clovis CA, Not specified · California
- Sushovan Hussain, Wire Fraud, England 2018 · Pennsylvania
Key Facts
- State: Alaska
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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