NYC Alleged I.D. Thief Agrees To Plea Guilty In $1.4 Million Fraud

In New York City, the Staten Island Advance reports that Fayyaz Ahmed, a bit player in a large identity theft ring with alleged criminal ties to Pakistan, pleaded guilty in state court last Thursday to six counts (of a 69-count grand jury indictment) involving charges of scheming to defraud, identity theft, grand larceny, money laundering and forgery in a six-month scheme that netted $1.4 million. The scheme involved using fake identification such as counterfeit driver's licenses to secure mortgage loans and cashing bank-issued checks.

He used a Staten Island home belonging to someone else as collateral to fraudulently pocket the mortgage loan proceeds from unsuspecting mortgage lenders and also used phony identification to obtain credit cards. Reportedly, Washington Mutual Bank, Wachovia, Citibank, Wells Fargo Bank, and MBNA America/Countrywide were the financial institutions victimized in the scam. For more, see Alleged identity thief admits role in $1M fraud scheme.