Source: Olivier Le Moal/Shutterstock.
A Massachusetts used car dealer faces a 10-count indictment for participating in a wide-reaching conspiracy to defraud at least eight credit unions and three banks across seven states by obtaining car loans using stolen personal identifying information and fake documents, according to federal prosecutors for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Providence, R.I.
Rolando E. Estrella, 32, of Dracut, Mass., pleaded not guilty to in federal court last month to charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, fraudulent use of a Social Security number and seven counts of bank fraud. Until recently, Estrella was the operator of Estrella National Auto, a used car dealership in Lawrence, Mass.
Recommended For You
Five of the credit unions that were allegedly victimized by this fraud are based in Massachusetts.
Prosecutors allege that the scam employed by Estrella and others involved the theft and use of individuals' personal identifying information to open accounts at large credit unions and major banks.
Using that information, along with fake documents including phony automobile titles, Estrella and others applied for used car and truck loans. After the money from those loans were deposited into credit union and bank accounts opened in the sellers' names, the funds were quickly withdrawn, according to prosecutors.
The 36-page indictment names the following credit unions as victims of the fraud: the $9.4 billion Bethpage Federal Credit Union in Bethpage, N.Y., the $12.2 billion Alliant Credit Union in Chicago, the $24.7 billion Pentagon Federal Credit Union in McLean, Va., the $9.3 billion Digital Federal Credit Union in Marlborough, Mass., the $757 million Direct Federal Credit Union in Needham Mass., the $2 billion Metro Federal Credit Union in Chelsea, Mass., the $91 million NESC Federal Credit Union in Methuen Mass. and the $1.5 billion Hanscom Federal Credit Union in Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.
The victimized banks were TD Bank in Cherry Hill, N.J., Bank of America in Charlotte, N.C. and KeyBank in Cleveland.
© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more inforrmation visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Peter Strozniak
Credit Union Times reporter covering credit union operations, fraud, M&As, leagues, business continuity, and breaking news.
