Two Men Charged With $3.7 Million Unauthorized-Debit Scheme Run Through Shell Companies in Stolen Names
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced on November 10 the arrests of Paris Baker and Michael Sullivan. Prosecutors allege the two ran a fraudulent scheme that initiated approximately $3.7 million in unauthorized debits of third-party bank accounts on behalf of fictitious shell entities they incorporated in the names of identity theft victims. Baker was arrested that morning in Thousand Oaks, California, and was expected to be presented in Los Angeles federal court that afternoon. Sullivan was arrested in Calumet City, Illinois, and was presented in Chicago federal court that morning.
As alleged in the Complaint, between approximately 2019 and 2024, Baker, Sullivan, and others incorporated shell entities in the names of identity theft victims and created accounts for them with at least three payment processors, one based in Rockland County, New York. They then initiated unauthorized debits of third parties' bank accounts, purportedly in payment for services rendered by the shell companies.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars of unauthorized transactions initiated by the shell entities were cleared by the payment processors and transferred into bank accounts the shell entities controlled, and the funds were then spent by Baker, Sullivan, and others or moved to other accounts under their control. Prosecutors say the group attempted to defraud victims of at least approximately $3.7 million and successfully obtained at least approximately $1.3 million. The scheme used no fewer than six fictitious shell entities, including Sebi Property Management, Sada Property Group, Vollen Medical Center, Acclimate Property Management, Majani Wellness Center, and Fruitive Medical & Rehab Center, none of which conducted any legitimate business or had genuine customers, according to the Complaint.
Baker, 38, of Chicago, Illinois, and Sullivan, 50, of Calumet City, Illinois, are each charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, carrying a maximum of twenty years in prison; access device fraud and conspiracy to commit access device fraud, carrying a maximum of fifteen years; conspiracy to commit money laundering, carrying a maximum of twenty years; and aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory minimum of two years. Any sentence will be determined by the judge.
U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said the defendants allegedly created businesses that existed only on paper, using stolen identities to give their scheme the appearance of legitimacy while initiating millions of dollars in unauthorized bank transactions. FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr. said Baker and Sullivan allegedly stole millions of dollars over the course of a five-year wire fraud scheme. The FBI's New York Field Office, Westchester County Resident Agency investigated the case, with the U.S. Attorney's Offices for the Northern District of Illinois and the Central District of California, the FBI's Chicago and Los Angeles Field Offices, and other agencies assisting with the arrests. The case is being prosecuted by the Office's White Plains Division, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ioannis Drivas and Daniel Listwa in charge.
The charges in the Complaint are merely accusations, and Baker and Sullivan are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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