Maryland man charged in $1 million unemployment benefits fraud scheme

BALTIMORE, MD—A federal grand jury charged a Maryland man with conspiracy, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft for his role in a scheme to fraudulently obtain over $1 million in unemployment benefits, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland. Mervyn Fombe Abiko, 35, also known as “Magic,” was indicted on May 22, 2024. The indictment was unsealed upon […]

Baltimore County fraudster sentenced to 30 months in prison for $1.5 million bank fraud scheme

BALTIMORE, MD—A Baltimore County man was sentenced this week to thirty months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release in Baltimore federal court for conspiracy to commit bank fraud. The sentencing of 67-year-old Theodore Sapperstein, formerly of Pikesville, is the result of his guilty plea to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. He will serve 30 months in […]

Jamaican national indicted in alleged lottery scam, defrauded victims of more than $9.5 million

BALTIMORE, MD—A Jamaican National has been indicted for an alleged lottery scheme that defrauded victims of millions of dollars, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced this week. According to the indictment, between October 2020 and February 2024, Nickoy Campbell, 29, of Jamaica, and his co-conspirators contacted victims by mail or phone and convinced them that they had won millions of dollars […]

Three men indicted over $3.5 million computer scam targeting vulnerable seniors

BALTIMORE, MD—Three men have been indicted for an alleged $3.5 million scheme that targeted older adults, making them believe their computers were infected with viruses and demanding payment for repairs. Amit Ahuja, 40, of Westminster, Maryland, is facing federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. The two other suspects, Kapil Gulati, 50, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, […]

Baltimore County fraudster pleads guilty to $1.5M bank account debit scheme

BALTIMORE, MD—A Baltimore County man has pleaded guilty to stealing over $1.5 million from victims across the U.S. in a bank fraud scheme, according to the announcement of the guilty plea this week by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland. Theodore Sapperstein, 66, of Pikesville, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. He is facing a […]

Maryland brothers indicted for an alleged lottery scheme that defrauded victims of more than $3.5 million

BALTIMORE, MD—Two Maryland brothers have been indicted for an alleged lottery sweepstakes scheme that defrauded victims of more than $3.5 million. A federal grand jury has returned a superseding indictment charging brothers Dwayne and Wayne Henry, age 32 and 34, respectively, both of Landover Hills, for conspiracy to commit mail fraud, in connection with a lottery scheme where victims believe […]

Five Marylanders facing federal charges for fraud scheme involving theft of checks from mail

GREENBELT, MD—A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging five Maryland residents with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and bank fraud and related charges in connection with a fraud scheme involving more than 600 stolen checks with a face value of over $5 million. The indictment was returned on December 7, 2023, and unsealed late on January 19, 2024. […]

Baltimore man sentenced to prison in connection with counterfeit card encoding scheme

BALTIMORE, MD—A Baltimore man has been sentenced to prison for his role in a counterfeit card encoding scheme. U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III has sentenced Leroy Holmes, 62, of Baltimore, to 57 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for bank fraud in connection with a scheme to re-encode credit cards, debit cards and […]