A 26-year-old Westchester man who was arrested while hiding under his co-conspirator’s couch now faces charges in connection to a $760,000 check fraud scheme that victimized several people and their businesses, officials announced.
Mount Vernon resident Ishmael Benreuben, age 26, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, Oct. 10 to participating in a scheme involving the deposit of around $760,000 in fraudulent checks into bank accounts in several states, the US Attorney's Office for Southern District of New York announced.
According to federal officials, between September 2021 and March 2022, Benreuben and other individuals began a forgery and fraud scheme. As part of this plan, Benreuben would steal checks from the mail, forge and alter them, and deposit them into bank accounts in New York, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C. that belonged to 26 co-conspirators.