Scammer Causes Banks To Lose $780,837 After Running Elaborate Cash Heist at 11 Different Branches

A man who orchestrated a scheme to steal over $1 million from banks has been sentenced to five years behind bars.

In a new press release, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) says that Oliver Tejada, 25, of the Bronx, New York, has been handed a 60-month prison sentence for masterminding a scheme that stole cash from 11 different bank branches, 10 of which were located in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Authorities say that Tejada and his co-conspirators stole more than $1 million from 23 victims, though in some instances the banks caught on and reversed their transactions, resulting in the banks losing a total of $780,837.

To pull off their scheme, Tejada and his co-conspirators would target the elderly and other victims to obtain their private bank account information, make calls to banks to gather additional information about their targets, then use an impostor with fraudulent documents, such as a fake ID, to come in to various branches and make large withdrawals or wire transfers.

The transfers would be sent to an account of someone who was recruited to receive the money and quickly deplete the account.

In some instances, the imposter would use the fake identification documents to obtain a debit card.

Tejada was originally charged in May 2024, and he pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

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