DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

Three Defendants Sentenced In Fraud And Identity Theft Scam Targeting Customers Of Banks And Credit Unions

Posted on August 9, 2022 by Dissent

August 8 – U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney today sentenced Cedric Smith to a prison term of 70 months.  His sentence is the last handed down in a West Michigan federal case charging three Miami, Florida residents with bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

In February 2021, a grand jury charged Cedric Smith, Daja Smith and Devonte Hoskins with stealing the identities of customers of banks and credit unions and then using that information to commit widespread fraud.  Prior to today’s sentence, Judge Maloney ordered Daja Smith to a prison term of five years; Devonte Hoskins received a term of six years.

The fraudulent scheme exploited the online system used by customers of banks and credit unions everywhere.  The defendants identified a targeted customer’s online account using compromised personal information they purchased from computer hackers on the internet.  To obtain a customer’s confidential password and access to the money in the customer’s account, the defendants called the customer, posing as bank security personnel, and induced the victim to share the onetime code a bank sends its customers when they need to reset their password.  Then defendants drained the victim’s account and moved the money to where they could use it for their own purposes. The defendants, operating out of Miami, Florida, targeted victims around the U.S. in this fashion, including customers of United Federal Credit Union in St. Joseph, Michigan.  Total losses are estimated at $1,400,000.

U.S. Attorney Mark Totten stated he was pleased with the convictions and sentences.  “Online thieves like these think they will never be caught because they can hide on the internet.  They are wrong.  We have the tools to identify and hunt them down, even if they committed their crimes from hundreds of miles away.  And that is what we will do.”

“These defendants may have thought they were beyond the reach of law enforcement because their crimes were committed entirely online,” said James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “They were sorely mistaken. The FBI treats these types of financial crimes very seriously and we will use our considerable resources to bring cybercriminals to justice.”

This case was investigated by the St. Joseph office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy VerHey.

###

Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Michigan

Related posts:

  • IRS’s Top 10 Identity Theft Prosecutions
  • Commentary: Repeated insider breaches at TD Bank should trigger federal regulator investigation (update 1)
  • Accokeek Fraudster Sentenced To Over 7 Years In Prison For Using Stolen Bank Account Information While In Prison To Buy Cars And Other Items
  • Russian hackers involved in largest hacking scheme ever prosecuted in U.S. sentenced
Category: Financial SectorID TheftU.S.

Post navigation

← Update: Colosseum Dental Benelux pays ransom to threat actors
FBI raids Trump’s Mar-a-Lago →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • National Health Care Fraud Takedown Results in 324 Defendants Charged in Connection with Over $14.6 Billion in Alleged Fraud
  • Swiss Health Foundation Radix Hit by Cyberattack Affecting Federal Data
  • Russian hackers get 7 and 5 years in prison for large-scale cyber attacks with ransomware, over 60 million euros in bitcoins seized
  • Bolton Walk-In Clinic patient data leak locked down (finally!)
  • 50 Customers of French Bank Hit by Insider SIM Swap Scam
  • Ontario health agency atHome ordered to inform 200,000 patients of March data breach
  • Fact-Checking Claims By Cybernews: The 16 Billion Record Data Breach That Wasn’t
  • Horizon Healthcare RCM discloses ransomware attack in December
  • Disgruntled IT Worker Jailed for Cyber Attack, Huddersfield
  • Hacker helped kill FBI sources, witnesses in El Chapo case, according to watchdog report

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • The Trump administration is building a national citizenship data system
  • Supreme Court Decision on Age Verification Tramples Free Speech and Undermines Privacy
  • New Jersey Issues Draft Privacy Regulations: The New
  • Hacker helped kill FBI sources, witnesses in El Chapo case, according to watchdog report
  • Germany Wants Apple, Google to Remove DeepSeek From Their App Stores
  • Supreme Court upholds Texas law requiring age verification on porn sites
  • Justices nix Medicaid ‘right’ to choose doctor, defunding Planned Parenthood in South Carolina

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.