Canadian man pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud for his role in fraud scheme

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that John Shestowsky, 51, of Greenfield Park, Quebec, Canada, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.

Between April 2018, and July 2020, Shestowsky and co-defendant James Rasmussen conspired with others to defraud financial institutions by false and fraudulent pretenses. In furtherance of the scheme:

• Shestowsky emailed Rasmussen the personal information, including bank account numbers, of various individuals without their knowledge or permission. On April 5, 2018, Shestowsky emailed Rasmussen a listing of eight individuals, titled, "10k clients," their addresses, phone numbers, and, for each individual, a bank name, bank account number, and note indicating a dollar amount in the bank account.
• Rasmussen sold individuals' personal information, including information he received from Shestowsky, on the internet for a profit. For example, between June 2019, and January 4, 2020, he sold approximately 52 M&T Bank account numbers online without the knowledge or permission of the owners of the accounts.
• Rasmussen incorporated a fictious business "First America Solutions Corp." in New York State and then opened bank accounts in the name of First America Solutions, including accounts at JP Morgan Chase Bank, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo Bank. Between March 10 and March 26, 2020, Shestowsky and Rasmussen caused 24 fraudulent checks, made payable to First America Solutions Corp., to be deposited into the JP Morgan Chase checking account. The checks were made using unauthorized bank account numbers of 24 individuals. Between March 11 and March 16, 2020, they caused 18 fraudulent checks to be deposited into the Bank of America checking account using unauthorized bank account numbers of 18 individuals. And between March 16 and May 6, 2020, Shestowsky and Rasmussen caused 47 fraudulent checks to be deposited into the Wells Fargo Bank checking account using unauthorized bank account numbers of 47 individuals, including a victim in Wayne County in the Western District of New York.

Charges remain pending against Rasmussen.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Bonanno. The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Allen D. Davis, II.

Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.

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