Bay Area Rapper Mark ‘Kafani’ Hicks and Two Co-Conspirators Sentenced to Prison for Multi-Million Dollar Mortgage Fraud Scheme
SAN FRANCISCO – Bay area rapper Mark ‘Kafani’ Hicks, aka Amir Rashad, was sentenced to 87 months in prison for his role in orchestrating a complex loan fraud and identity theft conspiracy.
Hicks, 42, of Oakley, California, was sentenced by the Honorable James Donato, United States District Judge, along with co-defendants Demarcus Hicks and Dionysius ‘Donnie’ Costello, who were sentenced to 48 months and 54 months respectively for their roles in the two-year conspiracy.
According to the plea agreements, Mark Hicks admitted to being at the center of a conspiracy in which he directed a team of criminals who stole approximately $2 million from banks and lending institutions. Specifically, Hicks admitted that within months of being released from prison in November 2017, he began orchestrating a scheme and conspiracy to defraud lending institutions and financial institutions.
Hicks admitted that he obtained the personal identifying information of nine victims; obtained additional information about the victims, such as their credit history; used the illegally-obtained information to create fraudulent bank accounts, emails, and phone numbers in the victims’ names; and then applied for mortgage refinance loans in the victims’ names.
During the sprawling two-year loan fraud conspiracy, Hicks impersonated victims in over a dozen phone calls with banks, lending institutions, and gold dealers. Hicks used the stolen funds primarily to buy gold bars and coins that his co-conspirators sold for cash. Over $480,000 of the illicit gains were recovered from a safe deposit box controlled by Hicks’s relatives.
Hicks, along with Demarcus Hicks and Costello, each admitted to assisting Hicks in executing various aspects of the scheme. The scheme included the following defendants:
Defendant
Age, Residence
Statutes of Conviction
Sentence Imposed
Mark ‘Kafani’ Hicks
42, Oakley, California
18 U.S.C. § 1349
18 U.S.C. § 1344
18 U.S.C. § 1028A
87 months
Demarcus Hicks
38, Stockton, California
18 U.S.C. § 1349
18 U.S.C. § 1344
18 U.S.C. § 1028A
48 months
Dionysius Costello
38, Berkeley, California
18 U.S.C. § 1349
18 U.S.C. § 1344
18 U.S.C. § 1028A
54 months
The sentences were handed down by the Honorable James Donato, United States District Judge.
The additional three members of the fraud ring were sentenced on May 23, 2022, and June 13, 2022. A seventh alleged member remains a fugitive.
The multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme resulted in the theft of approximately $2 million from banks and lending institutions.
Mark Hicks used the stolen funds primarily to buy gold bars and coins that his co-conspirators sold for cash.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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