A man who orchestrated a scheme to steal more than $1 million from banks has been sentenced to five years in prison.
According to a new press release from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Oliver Tejada, 25, of the Bronx, New York, has been sentenced to 60 months in prison for masterminding a conspiracy that stole cash from 11 different bank branches, 10 of which were in Pennsylvania’s Eastern District.
Authorities claim Tejada and his co-conspirators stole more than $1 million from 23 victims, although in certain cases, banks caught on and reversed the transactions, resulting in a total loss of $780,837.
To carry out their scheme, Tejada and his co-conspirators would target the elderly and other victims, obtain their private bank account information, call banks to gather additional information about their targets, and then use an impostor with fraudulent documents, such as a fake ID, to enter various branches and make large withdrawals or wire transfers.
Tejada and his co-conspirators would transfer the funds to a recruited individual’s account, quickly depleting it.
In some cases, the imposter would utilize fraudulent identification documents to obtain a debit card.
Tejada was first charged in May 2024 and pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiracy to conduct bank fraud, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft.