A Pennsylvania man was sentenced last month for running a 24-person, multimillion dollar fraud ring victimizing credit unions and banks, according to Attorney General Dave Sunday in Harrisburg.
Jeremy Antuan Boria Fraticelli, 23, of Dover, Pa., was sentenced to one year to 23 months in state prison and ordered to pay $537,000 in restitution. He pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges of theft, identity theft and involvement in a corrupt organization.
The fraud ring stole more than $3 million from over 800 member accounts at the $8.3 billion Members 1st Federal Credit Union (MFFCU) in Enola, Pa. The credit union reimbursed its members for these financial losses. The fraud ring also created and deposited fake checks into funnel accounts that also victimized the $971 million Belco Community Credit Union in Harrisburg, the $368 million First Capital Federal Credit Union in York, Pa., the $197 billion Navy Federal Credit Union in Vienna, Va., and six banks.
In January 2023, MFFCU members reported funds were being stolen from their accounts after receiving spoofed phone calls or text messages from the fraudsters who claimed to be from the MFFCU Fraud Department, tricking members into disclosing their personal and banking information.
Once the fraudsters accessed a member's account, they requested the two-factor authentication code sent to the member's phone. After receiving this code, the fraudsters locked the members out of their accounts and electronically transferred large sums of money into one or more secondary MFFCU accounts, referred to as "funnel" accounts, which were opened by co-conspirators to conceal their identities. Funnel account holders were recruited through social media platforms in exchange for cash.
Nine cases against 23 co-conspirators who were involved in the fraud ring are still pending. The rest pleaded guilty to charges and have been sentenced, the attorney general's office said.
Peter Strozniak can be reached at peter.strozniak@arc-network.com.
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