FLA Man Pleads Guilty In Scam Which Bilked Zelle Users, Including CT Residents, Out of $250K: Feds

A Florida resident pleaded guilty Tuesday to participating in a scheme which defrauded users of the electronic payment system Zelle, including victims from Connecticut.

Kuttino Jamal Scott, 24, of Miami, entered the plea to conspiracy to commit bank fraud in U.S. District Court in New Haven.

Prosecutors said Scott and his co-conspirators were able to steal a total of about $250,000 from their victims through the scam.

Scott, who is free on a $100,000 bond, is scheduled to be sentenced on April 13.

The scheme took place between February 2021 and August 2023, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

A co-defendant, Kader Gahmaal Biwaki Edmond, who pleaded guilty to the same charge, was sentenced in August 2024 to three years in prison.

Through the scheme, victims typically received a phony text message claiming to be from their bank, asking them to confirm whether a Zelle transaction was authorized, prosecutors said.

When victims deny the transaction, they’re told a bank representative will contact them. An individual impersonating a bank official then calls, telling victims they need to work together to reverse the transaction, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

“Without the victim’s knowledge, the fraudsters will link the victim’s actual phone number or email address via Zelle to a bank account that does not belong to the victim,” prosecutors said.

Victims are told to “reverse” the fictional fraudulent transaction by making a Zelle payment to what they believe is their own account. However, the account is actually controlled by the fraudsters, prosecutors said.

If you believe you have been victimized, report it to your bank or credit union and to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, the country’s hub for reporting cybercrime, at www.ic3.gov.