THE SUN
Four Canadians, John Flynn, Shoaib Ahmad, Eric Crespin and Lezli St. Hill, and two Americans, Henry LoConti and Timothy Munoz, have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles, California for their participation in a years-long scheme to steal millions of dollars from American consumers’ bank accounts.
All six defendants are charged with racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud.
The US Department of Justice disclosed this in a statement released on its website on Friday.
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 members and associates of a racketeering enterprise that unlawfully debited money from the bank accounts of unknowing US consumer-victims.
“Through various members and associates, the enterprise obtained identifying and banking information for victims, and created shell entities that claimed to offer products or services, such as cloud storage.
“The enterprise then executed unauthorised debits against victims’ bank accounts, which it falsely represented to banks were authorised by the victims.
“Some of the unauthorised debits resulted in returned transactions, which generated high return rates.
“To both conceal and continue conducting unauthorised debits, the enterprise’s shell entities also generated ‘micro debits’ against other bank accounts controlled and funded by or for the enterprise.
“The micro debits artificially lowered shell entities’ return rates to levels that conspirators believed would reduce bank scrutiny and lessen potential negative impact on the enterprise’s banking relations.
“Combined with a prior indictment, 19 conspirators are currently charged in the Central District of California for their participation in the scheme. Three other defendants have been convicted and/or sentenced in the District of Nevada, Southern District of California and District of Maryland,” the statement reads in part.
If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy and 30 years in prison for each count of wire fraud.
A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
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