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Virginia Man Charged with $6.6 Million Wire Fraud Scheme
BOSTON – A dual national of the United States and the Philippines has been charged in federal court in Boston with allegedly stealing more than $6.6 million from his employer over the course of a decade.
Ricardo Fontanilla, 66, of Fairfax, Va., was charged in a criminal complaint with wire fraud. Fontanilla was arrested at his home on May 3, 2026 and made his initial appearance yesterday in federal court in Arlington, Va. He will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.
According to the allegations in the complaint, between 2013 and December 2025, Fontanilla worked at the Victim Company, a global financial services company which had its U.S. headquarters in Massachusetts, as a Security Administration Services employee.
Fontanilla’s role allegedly gave him access to the Victim Company’s financial systems, which tracked borrowers’ mortgage payments in connection with residential mortgage-backed securities—a kind of financial instrument that allows investors to purchase ownership in a pool of residential mortgage loans.
Beginning at least as early as 2016, Fontanilla allegedly altered the Victim Company’s records to make it appear that the Victim Company was receiving excess payments from mortgage servicing companies that were collecting borrower payments.
The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater, restitution, and forfeiture.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth B. Kosto, Chief of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Frauds Unit, and is a result of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s commitment to combating financial crimes.
Fontanilla received more than $6.6 million in wires from Company A between 2016 and 2025 and allegedly made payments from the account for more than $3.2 million in personal credit card payments to Capital One, JPMorgan Chase and American Express; $778,000 in mortgage and loan payments; more than $200,000 in cash and cash-equivalent withdrawals; spent more than $70,000 at Cartier locations in Italy, Spain, the Philippines and the United States; and purchased a vehicle for approximately $77,000 —amounts far exceeding the approximately $83,000 annual salary Fontanilla received from the Victim Company.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Ricardo Fontanilla, 66, of Fairfax, Va., is charged with wire fraud in federal court in Boston with allegedly stealing more than $6.6 million from his employer over the course of a decade.
Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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