MIAMI – Federal prosecutors announced unsealing an indictment on Friday saying scammers who made tens of millions used the “Fraud Bible” and wore clothing bearing the phrase “Bag Hunter” and a sack of money.
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Leslie R. Backschies, the FBI’s acting assistant director, released a statement saying, a group of fraudsters used “sham businesses,” and “stolen and fake identities” to “operate” a “check fraud scheme.”
According to the indictment in the case, six men, including two from Miami-Dade and Broward counties, made about $50 million in deposits, as they tried to steal about $80 million, from 2021 to this year.
Harry T. Chavis, Jr., the IRS special agent in charge, released a statement saying the gang of “bag hunters” mostly stole from pandemic-related federal government programs.
Federal prosecutors identified them as Nicholas Pappas, Leonard Ujkic, Nosakhare Nobore, Solomon “D1 ReallyRich” Aluko, Jorge Gonzalez, and Shan Anand.
“They lied and cheated a benefits system meant to help struggling businesses that need it, all while stealing checks from agencies who assist the elderly and veterans,” Chavis said.
According to prosecutors, Pappas, 28, of Miami, and Ujkic, 44, of Fort Lauderdale, worked with three men from New Jersey and one from New York.
The New Jersey trio: Nobore, 29, of Edgewater; Aluko, 19, Hackensack; and Gonzalez, 28, of North Bergen. The New Yorker, Anand, 34, of Queens, worked as a bank teller, according to prosecutors.
They are each facing charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and engaging in a monetary transaction in property derived from specific unlawful activity, conspiracy to defraud the government, and aggravated identity theft.