Wilmington man among 6 defendants charged in bank account theft scheme

Prosecutors said members of the crime ring obtained personal and banking information for victims.

LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles man was among six defendants charged for their alleged participation in a yearslong scheme to steal millions of dollars directly from the bank accounts of American consumers, officials announced Friday.

Timothy Munoz, 57, of Wilmington, was allegedly part of the ring that stole money by creating phony companies that claimed to offer products or services, and then executed unauthorized bank debits, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The defendants — who are mainly from Canada — are charged in L.A. federal court with racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with what the DOJ calls “an elaborate plot to steal consumers’ hard-earned savings directly from their bank accounts.”

Prosecutors contend members of the crime ring first obtained personal and banking information for victims and created shell entities that claimed to offer products or services, such as cloud storage. The group then executed unauthorized debits against victims’ accounts, which it falsely represented to banks were authorized, court papers allege.

Some of the unauthorized debits resulted in returned transactions, which generated high return rates. To both conceal and continue the fraud, the shell entities generated “micro debits” against other bank accounts controlled and funded by the ring, court papers show.

“Criminals are utilizing technology to devise increasingly sophisticated methods to steal from victims,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement. “My office will continue to use all available tools to prosecute and apprehend these fraud networks, but I also urge everyone to regularly check your accounts for any unauthorized activity — no matter how small. Prevention is key.”

Combined with a prior indictment, 19 defendants are currently charged in Los Angeles for their alleged participation in the scheme. Three other defendants have been convicted and/or sentenced in Nevada, San Diego and Maryland, the DOJ noted.