NY Man Sentenced to 36 Months in Prison for RI Bank Fraud Conspiracy

NY Man Sentenced to 36 Months in Prison for RI Bank Fraud Conspiracy

A New York man was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison for taking part in a conspiracy to defraud banks, announced U.S. Attorney Aaron Weisman on Wednesday.

Angel Morales, 52, pleaded guilty on September 3, 2019, to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and three counts of bank fraud.

Morales was also ordered to pay $116,000 in restitution and serve three-years supervised release upon completion of his prison term.

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The Investigation

According to the U.S. Attorney, Morales used stolen personal identifying information to open bank accounts as part of a scheme to obtain fraudulent car loans.

Once funds from the loans were obtained, Morales deposited the funds into bank accounts he and others opened, quickly withdrawing the money before the bank issuing the loans discovered the fraudulent nature of the transactions.

Octavio Andres Difo-Castro, 28, of Brooklyn, New York, who previously admitted to the Court that he employed and directed several individuals, including Morales, and provided them with the stolen personal identifying information used in the fraud scheme, pleaded guilty on September 19, 2019, to one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to access device fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft, and nineteen counts of wire fraud.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 13, 2020.