Bank Fraud and Identity Theft Plague Southern Maine, Florida and Oregon. A Fort Lauderdale, Florida man, Leonardo Cameron, 28, was sentenced to 61 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft and unlawful possession of a firearm in U.S. District Court in Portland, Maine.
The scheme, which began in November 2020, involved Cameron and his coconspirators breaking into unattended vehicles in southern Maine and New Hampshire, stealing personal identifying information, including driver’s licenses and checkbooks. Using the stolen identifications, they cashed stolen checks at multiple bank drive-through lanes in southern Maine.
As part of the scheme, checks from one theft victim’s account were made payable to another identity theft victim, and another coconspirator impersonated the identity theft victims to cash the stolen checks.
Cameron engaged in similar conduct in Oregon with different coconspirators in July 2020. When he was arrested in Florida for the Oregon federal bank fraud and identity theft charges in April 2021, he was found in possession of a firearm and ammunition. A prior felony conviction precluded Cameron from possessing firearms or ammunition.
Cameron agreed to transfer jurisdiction over the Florida and Oregon charges to the District of Maine for the purpose of entering guilty pleas to all pending federal charges.
The Eliot, Maine Police Department; the FBI in Portland, Maine; the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Portland, Oregon; and HSI in Fort Lauderdale, Florida investigated the cases.
In a related case, Travis Paige (aka “Travis McNair” or “Sway”), 26, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was sentenced to three years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft for his part in the scheme.
Leonardo Cameron, the main defendant, was sentenced on November 28, 2022, for his crimes, which occurred in 2020 and 2021 in Maine, Florida, and Oregon. The total prison time for Cameron is 61 months, with an additional three years of supervised release.
Related Federal Cases
- Paul Logugune, Bank Fraud and Identity Theft, Maine 2022 · New Hampshire
- Steven James Parker, Bank Heist, Idaho 2023 · Idaho
- 23andMe, Data Auction Without Consent, New York NY, 2023 · Oklahoma
- 23andMe, Selling Genetic Data Without Consent, New York, 2023 · Oklahoma
- Lee Manuel Colson, Firearms Possession, Florida 2024 · Idaho
Key Facts
- State: Maine
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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