RI Man Convicted of Bank Fraud Conspiracy that Operated in NJ, PA

Federal authorities say a man from Rhode Island has been convicted for his role in a bank fraud conspiracy that targeted financial institutions in South Jersey and beyond.

U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger says 42-year-old Olayinka Peter Olaseinde of Providence, RI, was convicted on Tuesday of one count of bank fraud conspiracy and three counts of bank fraud following a five-day bench trial in Camden federal court.

According to Sellinger's office,

Olaseinde was part of a Nigerian-based, multi-layered criminal organization that engaged in a bank fraud conspiracy in several states, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Rhode Island, from June 2016 to March 2020. Members of the group acquired business checks that were stolen from the United States mail, altered the payee on the checks to a fraudulent name and deposited the checks into bank accounts that had been opened with counterfeit foreign passport documents and counterfeit U.S. visas that matched the names on the altered checks.

Members of the group also opened credit card and bank accounts using stolen personal information, took cash advances on those fraudulent credit cards, and deposited fraudulent checks. After banks credited the funds to the accounts, the defendants withdrew the money from ATMs or bought money orders, using debit cards associated with those fraudulent accounts.

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Olaseinde’s role

Officials say Olaseinde’s role in the conspiracy included making deposits of stolen and altered, or otherwise fraudulent, checks into several of accounts and making purchases and withdrawing funds from the accounts.

Sentencing

Each of the four counts on which he was convicted carries up to 30 years in prison and a maximum fine of $1 million.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 27th.

Others involved

Five other conspirators have pleaded guilty; one of them has already been sentenced while the others are awaiting sentencing. Charges against six other defendants remain pending.

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