LAX Leader

A federal grand jury has indicted six individuals for their involvement in a prolonged scheme to steal millions of dollars from American consumers' bank accounts, the Justice Department announced today.

According to court documents, Henry LoConti, 63, of Chardon, Ohio; John Flynn, 43, of Canada; Shoaib Ahmad, 64, of Canada; Timothy Munoz, 57, of Wilmington, California; Eric Crespin, 61, of Canada; and Lezli St. Hill, 53, of Canada were part of a racketeering enterprise that illicitly debited money from unsuspecting U.S. consumer-victims' bank accounts.

“Criminals are utilizing technology to devise increasingly sophisticated methods to steal from victims,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “My office will continue to use all available tools to prosecute and apprehend these fraud networks, but I also urge everyone to regularly check your accounts for any unauthorized activity – no matter how small. Prevention is key.”

“The scheme alleged in the indictment involved an elaborate plot to steal consumers’ hard-earned savings directly from their bank accounts,” stated Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will use all of the tools at its disposal to prosecute such schemes.”

The indictment outlines that the enterprise obtained identifying and banking information for victims through various members and associates and created shell entities claiming to offer products or services like cloud storage. These entities then executed unauthorized debits against victims' bank accounts under false pretenses. Some unauthorized debits resulted in returned transactions with high return rates. To obscure these activities and continue unauthorized debits, the enterprise generated "micro debits" against other controlled bank accounts. This tactic was intended to lower return rates artificially and reduce scrutiny from banks.

Including a prior indictment, 19 conspirators have been charged in the Central District of California related to this scheme. Additionally, three defendants have been convicted or sentenced in the Districts of Nevada, Southern California, and Maryland.

“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), along with our partners, remain committed to shutting down these types of scammers,” said Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of USPIS’ Criminal Investigations Group. “Dismantling this syndicate...should send a clear message that fraudulent schemes that exploit innocent victims...will not be tolerated."

All six defendants face charges of racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud. If convicted, each could face up to 20 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy and up to 30 years for each count of wire fraud. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Ahmad faces additional charges in a separate indictment for conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud related to another similar scheme targeting U.S. consumers.

An indictment is merely an allegation; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.

The department advises individuals to monitor their financial statements regularly for unauthorized debits and report any suspicious activity immediately.

USPIS is investigating the case with Assistant United States Attorney Monica Tait and Justice Department Trial Attorneys Wei Xiang, Meredith Healy, and Amy Kaplan prosecuting.

For more information about consumer protection efforts by the Consumer Protection Branch and USPIS visit www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.