Muhamed Dieye being subdued after allegedly resisting federal law enforcement. (Credit: U.S. Department of Justice)
DALLAS - Over a dozen people have been accused of orchestrating a $373 million bank-account-takeover scheme targeting thousands of residents across the U.S.
The suspects include potentially corrupt insiders at major banking institutions, and their suspected ringleader, Muhamed Dieye, 35, of Dallas, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
He and 13 others have been indicted on wire fraud, bank fraud and identity theft charges. The 22-count indictment was unsealed Thursday after the arrest of Terrence Dudley, who officials said is believed to be a key co-conspirator in the case.
Suspected ringleader tries to flee the U.S.
What we know:
The U.S. Attorney's Office said they secured an arrest warrant for Dieye hours before he tried to flee the country on a one-way flight to Malaysia.
He and his family vacated his Dallas residence, shipped his possessions to Kenya, and traveled to the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, where officials said he was arrested shortly after scanning his boarding pass.
The DOJ said Dieye tried to destroy one of his cell phones and had to be subdued by multiple federal agents. According to detectives, that cell phone contained evidence showing he was researching how to buy a home in Malaysia.
(Credit: U.S. Department of Justice)
How investigators say the scheme was carried out
The backstory:
Investigators said Dieye had a spreadsheet containing detailed personal and business information for nearly 3,000 victims. He and others would access or withdraw funds from victims’ accounts at multiple different banks, according to officials.
Detectives said, on one occasion, Dieye tried to wire $2 million from a victim’s account to the Emirates Islamic Bank.
The suspects used counterfeit identification documents and several other methods to carry out the scheme, detectives said. Some of the suspects are believed to have impersonated victims or manipulated victims’ phone lines by spoofing and SIM swapping. Investigators said corrupt insiders would also help bypass authentication measures.
Aliases referencing ‘violent extremists’
Authorities said many of the suspects also used aliases when engaging in fraudulent activities, some of them referencing "violent extremists and organized-crime figures."
Renaldo Santez Gaines, one of the suspects, would sometimes go by "OsamaCapone" or "OsamaBin57," according to detectives.
(Credit: U.S. Department of Justice)
Which banks were impacted and when
Timeline:
They are believed to have carried out the operation from July 2023 up until November 2024.
The victims collectively held over $373 million in their bank accounts, according to officials. The institutions impacted included Truist Bank, Bank of America, First Bank, Woodforest National Bank, JPMorgan Chase Bank and Charles Schwab.
Suspects could face decades in prison
What's next:
Dieye was initially ordered to be released on bond by a court in New York, but federal authorities immediately sought and obtained an emergency stay of his release.
He has since been transported to the Northern District of Texas, where he and several of his co-defendants remain in federal custody.
In addition to Dieye, Dudley, and Gaines, the following suspects have also been indicted:
- Maurice Rashad McDuffie
- Saad Nashat Botros
- Sammed Kweku Okyne
- Alphonso Brndon Seke‑Horton
- Terry Leon Daniels Jr.
- Jamel Allen Small
- Kemar Fitzroy Needham
- Kevin Brandon Flores Cazares
- Dylon Amari Ruby
- Courtney Jane Sutton
If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison on a bank fraud conspiracy charge and 20 years in federal prison on a wire fraud conspiracy charge. Aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory sentence of two years in prison.
What they're saying:
"North Texas is the financial services hub of America, and protecting Main Street families and investors is a top priority of this office," said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould. "These defendants are charged with targeting the life savings of thousands of Americans, and the ringleader was stopped at the gate before he could flee. Target Main Street, and we will pursue you with every tool available."
The Source: The information in this article comes from a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.