Massive Bank Fraud Ring Victimized CT Customers, Feds Say

A multi-million-dollar bank fraud ring based victimized customers in Connecticut and other states, according to a statement from federal prosecutors.

Six Massachusetts residents were indicted in the case and charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts, the group illegally obtained the names, birthdays, Social Security numbers, and bank account numbers of local bank customers in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.

They did so by recruiting bank insiders to facilitate their scheme, including by providing them access to victim customers’ information and disabling account notifications that would have alerted customers to the unauthorized withdrawals, according to prosecutors.

The ring then recruited people to pose as those customers through the use of fake IDs, go to the customers' banks, and withdraw large sums of money. They then deposited that money — totaling millions of dollars — into fraudulent accounts, prosecutors said.

The alleged scheme took place from December 2022 to the present.

Those charged in the case were Selby Oakai, 23, of Worcester; Phalentz Vernot, 24, of Waltham; Yves Bissainthe, 23, of Randolph; Marvin Kimani, 24, of Lowell; Keith Wainaina, 23, of Lowell; and Victor Kolawole, 25, of Brockton.

They each face up to 50 years in prison, $1.5 million in fines, and eight years of supervised release.