Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, announced that all seven conspirators have now been sentenced for stealing more than $5 million through a fraud scheme involving identity theft and credit card, bank and mortgage fraud.
The scheme, led by Abdul Hameed of Houston Texas, involved the use of at least 35 false identities to obtain approximately 200 credit card accounts and to open approximately 60 bank accounts. From about May 2005 to May 2007, Hameed and others used the false identities – representing individuals or businesses – to purchase properties, make other large purchases, conduct balance transfers and obtain substantial cash advances. The conspirators were all born in Pakistan and transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars from the scheme to accounts in Pakistan.
Hameed was sentenced on July 25, 2008, to 212 months in prison as the ringleader of the fraud scheme, and today Arshad Hussain of Dumfries, Va. was sentenced to 24 months in prison after previously escaping to Pakistan and ultimately returning to the United States to face charges in this case. Other conspirators include:
Some sentences were later reduced by the court in recognition of the defendants’ assistance in investigating and prosecuting these offenses.
All the members of the conspiracy were ordered to pay forfeiture of $5 million and to repay more than $3 million in restitution to the victims.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys James P. Gillis, Gordon D. Kromberg, and Karen L. Taylor, and was investigated by a team of law enforcement agents from the FBI, the Fairfax County Police Department, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia