Source: United States Department of Justice News
SHERMAN, Texas – A Queens, New York man has been sentenced to prison in the Eastern District of Texas for federal violations, announced U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.
Anthony Terrell Lloyde, 33, pleaded guilty on July 29, 2021 to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant. Lloyde was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,339,025.37.
According to information presented in court, beginning in January 2013, Lloyde conspired with others in a scheme to use the stolen identities of unsuspecting victims to illegally purchase material goods and services, most often high-value electronics, such as iPhones and iPads, hotel rooms and vehicle rentals. Though based in New York, participants traveled throughout the United States to cities associated with the victims’ identities to avoid detection of the fraud. Lloyde was the organizer and leader of the scheme. He purchased victims’ identifying information via the internet and directed the use of device-making equipment to manufacture fraudulent state identification documents and credit cards. He recruited conspirators, to whom he provided the fraudulent documents, and directed them to travel to various cities throughout the United States, including cities located in the Eastern District of Texas such as Frisco and Plano. Once they arrived at their target location, they used the victims’ stolen identification information and forged identification documents to open fraudulent instant credit accounts at retail stores, such as Apple Store and Best Buy, to purchase merchandise. These stores utilize the credit services of federally insured banks such as Citibank, Barclays Bank Delaware and Synchrony. Thus, by materially misrepresenting their identities to the retail stores, Lloyde and his coconspirators were able to defraud the banks.
Lloyde typically organized the trips by determining the target cities and stores and by booking and/or purchasing airline tickets on behalf of his coconspirators. Lloyde and coconspirators typically traveled under their true identities and would often mail the fraudulent identification documents and credit cards to one another in order to avoid traveling with them in their possession. Conspirators used fraudulently obtained credit cards and forged identification documents to rent vehicles to travel during their commission of the offense, and those fraudulently obtained vehicles were often sold to third parties on the black market. As such, the offense involved an organized plan to steal or receive stolen vehicles. Once conspirators arrived at the target stores, Lloyde and others would actively participate via phone calls and text messages, directing which victims’ identities were to be used and which products were to be purchased. Victims’ identities were often chosen based upon their proximity to the target city and store, making it less likely the fraud would be detected since it was occurring close to where the victims lived. Some conspirators used victims’ identification and phone numbers to obtain duplicate cell phone subscriber identity modules (SIM cards). Those conspirators would then use the duplicate SIM cards to divert fraud alerts to their own cell phones, which allowed the conspirators to further their criminal conduct by authorizing the fraudulent transactions. After purchasing items, conspirators shipped the illegally obtained goods to Lloyde in New York, and Lloyde would resell those products. Lloyde parlayed some of the proceeds generated by the criminal enterprise to purchase airline tickets for himself and other conspirators, to pay for hotel accommodations for himself and other conspirators, and to provide money for incidental expenses assumed by conspirators. In all, the scheme targeted retail stores that provided instant lines of credit the conspirators could exploit to immediately purchase goods. The credit accounts were funded by banks, and those banks, rather than the retail stores, suffered the financial losses. The primary pecuniary victims of the offense include Citibank, Barclays Bank Delaware, Nordstrom, and Synchrony. Citibank suffered an actual loss of $1,045,406.71. Barclays Bank Delaware reported an actual loss of $154,731.91. Nordstrom reported an actual loss of $71,016.01. Synchrony reported an actual loss of $67,870.74. As such, the total actual known loss committed by Lloyde and his coconspirators is $1,339,025.37.
This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security HSI Dallas, along with HSI Long Island, HSI Atlanta and HSI Salt Lake City field offices; Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport Department of Public Safety; Plano, Texas Police Department; Port of Portland Police Department; New York State Police; New York Police Department; Massachusetts State Police; Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky Airport Police Department; Orange County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Aurora, Colorado Police Department; Broomfield, Colorado, Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Johnson.
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