A Silver Spring man have been convicted for a bank fraud scheme that cost victims several hundred thousand dollars, federal prosecutors announced this week.
Emmanuel Kusi Appiah, 47, was found guilty after a five-day federal trial of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, four counts of bank fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft.
Evidence presented during the trial showed Appiah and conspirators opened bank accounts at 10 financial institutions using at least five stolen identities, according to prosecutors. From June 2013 to March 2018, the group used the fraudulent accounts opened under five shell corporations to deposit stolen checks and tax refunds.
Witnesses testified Appiah laundered, transferred or withdrew the proceeds for him and his conspirators to use, according to federal prosecutors.
A sentencing hearing for Appiah is scheduled for June 1. He faces a maximum of 30 years in prison for each of the bank fraud counts, along with a mandatory two years for the identity theft charges, to run consecutive to any other sentence.
A prosecutor’s office spokesperson could not say what sentence prosecutors would pursue in the upcoming hearing nor detail exactly how much was taken. Prosecutors are seeking full repayment of the stolen funds.
An attorney for Appiah did not respond to a request for comment.
