Waltham Man Charged As Part Of Bank Fraud Ring

WALTHAM, MA — A Waltham man is one of six Massachusetts residents charged in what officials said is a scheme to defraud banks in three New England states out of millions of dollars.

Officials said the scheme aimed to defraud banks in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

The following people have been indicted on one count each of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering:

1. Phalentz Vernot, 24, of Waltham, who was also indicted on one count of aggravated identity theft;
2. Selby Okai, 23, of Worcester;
3. Yves Bissainthe, 23, of Randolph;
4. Marvin Kimani, 24, of Lowell;
5. Keith Wainaina, 23, of Lowell; and
6. Victor Kolawole, 25, of Brockton.

All six defendants were arrested Friday and appeared in federal court in Boston.

According to the charging documents, from at least December 2022 through the present, the defendants allegedly obtained, without authorization, the names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and bank account numbers of customers of various local banks.

They also recruited people to pose as those customers; obtained fake identification documents with the victim customers’ names but the imposters’ photos; drove the imposters to banks in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island, where the imposters presented the fake identification documents and withdrew large sums from the victim customers’ accounts in the form of Cashier’s checks; deposited those checks into bank accounts defendants and their co-conspirators controlled; and transferred the money to other bank accounts they controlled.

The defendants allegedly recruited 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.

In total, the charges carry a total of over 50 years in prison.