KADER GAHMAAL BIWAKI EDMOND, Zelle Defrauding, Connecticut 2024
A 24-year-old Florida man has been sentenced to 36 months in federal prison for his role in a scheme that defrauded individuals who use the electronic payments system Zelle.
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that KADER GAHMAAL BIWAKI EDMOND, of Miami Gardens, Florida, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 36 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release and 125 hours of community service, for his role in a scheme that defrauded individuals who use the electronic payments system Zelle.
According to court documents and statements made in court, law enforcement has been investigating crimes against users of digital payment applications, including Zelle. Typically, a scheme victim receives a fraudulent text message, purporting to be from the victim’s bank, asking the victim to confirm whether a Zelle transaction was authorized.
The scheme victim then receives a response that a bank representative will be in contact. The victim then receives a phone call from an individual impersonating a bank representative, who informs the victim that an unauthorized transaction has occurred and that they need to work together to reverse the transaction.
Without the victim’s knowledge, the fraudsters will link the victim’s actual phone number or email address via Zelle to a bank account that does not belong to the victim. The victim is then instructed to “reverse” the fictional fraudulent transaction by making a Zelle payment to what they believe is their own account, but is, in fact, an account controlled by the fraudsters.
From approximately February 2021 through August 2023, Edmond and others defrauded numerous victims, including victims in Connecticut, of a total of more than $250,000 through this Zelle scheme and other fraud schemes.
Edmond was arrested on August 31, 2023. On May 21, 2024, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
Edmond, who is released on a $100,000 bond, is required to report to prison on October 21, 2024.
Judge Shea ordered Edmond to pay $290,157 in restitution.
Victims can report Zelle fraud to their bank or credit union, or to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which is run by the FBI and serves as the country’s hub for reporting cybercrime, at www.ic3.gov.
Key Facts
- State: Connecticut
- Category: Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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