Milwaukee, WI – 10 December 2019 – A Milwaukee man is facing 22 felony charges — and at least 11 other people are facing multiple felonies — after he allegedly masterminded and executed a fraud scheme that ripped off several Milwaukee County banks of nearly $500,000.
In a 22-page criminal complaint, Akelius M. Armstrong, 40, is accused of propagating a large-scale fraud scheme in which he provided false Social Security Numbers to about a dozen people, who then used those numbers to qualify for bank loans and paid little or none of them back.
All told, over a nearly two-year period beginning in June 2017, Armstrong and his associates succeeded in defrauding branches of at least three banks of $451,000, money which was used to purchase 16 cars, three credit cards and an iPhone, according to the complaint.
Armstrong himself is accused of defrauding banks of $138,500 in order to obtain a credit card, a 2016 Dodge Challenger, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and 2010 Porsche, the complaint said. A warrant for his arrest was issued Nov. 20, according to online court records.
Targeted banks included those in Milwaukee, Wauwatosa, West Milwaukee, Greenfield and Glendale.
The complaint names 13 people who received assistance from Armstrong in their fraudulent actions. As of Nov. 21, online court records showed that 11 of them have been charged with a total of 29 felonies.
According to the complaint:
The Scheme
When filling out an application for a loan, Armstrong’s plan involved substituting a real Social Security Number for a Credit Privacy Number, or a CPN, which is a nine-digit number that initially does not have a credit profile associated with it. But the CPNs can be assigned to a child or a deceased individual.
Using a CPN, a person is able to build a credit profile that is unconnected to that person’s real credit history. After building up the CPN’s credit profile, fraudsters can then sell the CPN to someone with a poor credit history, or use the CPN to obtain loans or credit cards with no intent of ever paying them back, since the CPN is not connected to their real identity.
Armstrong’s scheme involved someone presenting themselves at a car dealership or bank to finance a car purchase. They would use a CPN in place of their Social Security Number and provide false employer information.
After obtaining financing for their purchases, Armstrong and his associates paid little or none of their loans back.
Other Charges
Armstrong is accused of assisting at least 13 other people in defrauding banks. Wauwatosa police caught on to the pattern after several of the fraudsters — including Armstrong in one instance — were denied loans when bank or car dealership employees became suspicious of the paperwork presented to them.
Police were able to trace connections between Armstrong and the 13 other suspects either by them admitting Armstrong sold them the CPNs or by the false employer information — phone numbers, addresses and fictitious names of businesses — they provided on their loan applications.
Eleven of those 13 suspects have been charged as of Nov. 21.
They are: Keith Bower, 41, of South Milwaukee; Dwayne Speed, 35, of Milwaukee; Ronsha Butler, 30, of Milwaukee; Antwon Mayfield, 35, of Milwaukee; Deshunna Franklin, 38, of Milwaukee; Preston Harger, 32, of Menomonee Falls; Natasha Elbert, 41, of Milwaukee; Anthony Reed, 40, of Milwaukee; Derrick Washington, 35, of West Allis; and Liljosie Taylor, 37, of Milwaukee.
The complaint notes that the investigation into the fraud scheme is ongoing and additional charges may come in the future.
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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