Federal forfeiture action recovers more than $800,000 from banking scammers

SAVANNAH, GA: Federal investigators and attorneys halted a fraud scheme targeting individuals' bank accounts and recovered more than $800,000 on behalf of victims in the case.

Southern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney Margaret E. "Meg" Heap announced the forfeiture on behalf of the United States $834,592 from facilitators of a wide-ranging bank fraud scheme involving more than 1,100 financial institutions.

"The Asset Forfeiture Unit of the U.S. Attorney's Office, in coordination with the FBI, worked diligently to locate and forfeit these funds," said U.S. Attorney Heap. "Our office remains committed to recovering fraud proceeds and mitigating the damage these criminal organizations inflict on Georgia communities."

As described in the civil complaint and court order, in late 2023, scammers sought out individual bank account owners across the country to launder the proceeds of illicit activity. The FBI was able to track more than $3 million in fraud proceeds laundered through the fraud scheme, much of which has already been returned to the victims through the efforts of several banks.

As an example, fraudsters informed an unwitting person in south Georgia that they sold insurance policies identified as theft protection plans provided via Lifelock, a nationally branded identity theft and recovery service. Fraudsters used the person's bank account to receive payments, falsely stating the money was legally earned when, in fact, the fraudsters were drawing remotely created checks (RCCs) from victims' bank accounts.

The FBI was able to quickly investigate the case and seize the money before the fraud ring could collect on their criminal efforts.

"Fraudsters rely on speed, deception, and the misuse of legitimate financial systems to steal from innocent people," said Matthew J. Ploskunak, Senior Supervisory Special Agent of FBI Georgia's Augusta Office. "In this case, the FBI moved faster. By identifying the scheme and seizing the funds before they could be dispersed, we were able to significantly disrupt this criminal operation and protect victims. Anyone considering participating in these schemes should know the FBI will find you and work to recover every possible dollar."

This case was investigated by the FBI. The United States was represented by Southern District of Georgia Senior Litigation Counsel J. Bishop Ravenel.

The proceeds of forfeited assets are deposited in the Justice Department's Assets Forfeiture Fund (AFF) and used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of other law enforcement purposes. To learn more about the AFF, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/afp/assets-forfeiture-fund-aff.