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New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud Conspiracy
A 20-year-old Essex County man has admitted to conspiring to steal mail and commit bank fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey.
Jahaad Flip, of Newark, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud by soliciting U.S. Postal Service employees to steal check books and credit cards from the mail.
Flip and his conspirators deposited fraudulent checks, including pandemic relief checks, and used stolen credit cards without authorization, according to documents filed in the case.
From February 2019 to May 2020, Flip and his conspirators obtained and attempted to obtain approximately $280,000 from victim financial institutions.
Flip faces a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. Sentencing is scheduled for October 19, 2021.
One of Flip’s conspirators, Tashon Ragan, has already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and is due to be sentenced on September 20, 2021. Charges are still pending against two other conspirators, Jeffrey Bennett and Janel Blackman.
The investigation was led by postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, special agents with the U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General, and special agents with the IRS – Criminal Investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Fayer and Elaine K. Lou in Newark.
Jahaad Flip, 20, of Newark, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: Flip conspired to fraudulently obtain money from victim financial institutions by depositing counterfeit checks and checks stolen from the mail into accounts and withdrawing funds from those accounts before the financial institutions identified the fraudulent checks and blocked further withdrawals.
Flip and his conspirators arranged for USPS employees to steal credit cards and blank check books from the mail in exchange for cash payments. USPS employees provided the checks to Flip and his conspirators, who forged the signatures of the accountholders and negotiated the checks by making them payable to individuals.
Some of these individuals were New Jersey high school students who had given Flip and his conspirators access to their accounts in exchange for cash. Flip and his conspirators also created counterfeit checks, including counterfeit pandemic relief checks.
They deposited the fraudulent checks online and at various bank ATMs throughout New Jersey and later withdrew funds from the bank accounts before the victim financial institutions identified the checks as fraudulent.
Flip and his conspirators obtained and attempted to obtain approximately $280,000 from victim financial institutions.
Rachael A. Honig, Acting U.S. Attorney, credited postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, special agents with the U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General, and special agents with the IRS – Criminal Investigation, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
She also thanked the Summit Police Department, the New Providence Police Department, the Piscataway Police Department, the Newark Police Department, the South Orange Police Department, and the Little Falls Police Department for their assistance.
Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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