Lester Aceituno, a 40-year-old Georgia resident, was sentenced today to 30 months in jail for his role in a complicated bank fraud and identity theft operation. Chief United States District Court Judge Landya B. McCafferty imposed the sentence after Aceituno was found guilty by a federal jury on November 3, 2023.
Aceituno, along with co-defendants Kizito Chukwujekwu and Chinedu Ihejiere, were indicted on August 24, 2020, for their roles in a conspiracy that ran from June 2016 to October 2017. The group used stolen identities to open bogus bank accounts in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Georgia and then deposited more than $119,000 in fraudulent checks.
United States Attorney Jane E. Young stated, “The defendant and his co-conspirators brazenly stole and utilized other identities to carry out their conspiracy. Today’s punishment makes it clear that such behavior will not be tolerated, and we will continue to vigorously pursue individuals who victimize members of the public.
The plan entailed opening or accessing post office boxes in Massachusetts and Georgia to get debit cards and PIN details for the bogus accounts. The co-conspirators would then deposit fake checks into these accounts and remove the funds before the institutions recognized the checks as fraudulent.
Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division, underlined the agency’s dedication to catching financial fraudsters, saying, “Lester Aceituno regarded it as easy money. He took the identities of unsuspecting victims and made tens of thousands of dollars. What he didn’t plan on was the FBI and our partners apprehending him.”
Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the United States Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division, emphasized the terrible impact of identity theft on victims and reaffirmed the agency’s ongoing efforts to prevent such schemes.
The United States Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Brockton, Massachusetts Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General all worked together to conduct the investigation that resulted in Aceituno and his co-defendants’ successful prosecution. Matthew T. Hunter and Geoffrey W.R. Ward, Assistant US Attorneys, prosecuted the case.