NEW YORK–A man has been arrested and arraigned on an 18-count indictment for identity theft and the embezzlement of thousands of dollars that victimized a bank but involved a threat that could hit a credit union at any time, as it involved a mobile deposit app.
Otis Barnes, 29, allegedly used the personal identifying information of a 90-year old Staten Island resident to cash forged money orders at United States Post Service offices throughout New York and New Jersey, defrauding a local bank to steal thousands of dollars, New York Attorney General Letitia James stated.
A joint investigation by the Attorney General’s Auto Insurance Fraud Unit and the United States Postal Inspection Service revealed Barnes allegedly assumed the elderly victim’s identity on several occasions by presenting himself as the victim at several USPS offices and at a check-cashing establishment. As proof of his stolen identity, Barnes is accused of using a forged New York State Driver’s License that listed the elderly victim’s name, home address, and date of birth, but contained Barnes’ photograph in order to cash several forged USPS money orders in the victim’s name, the AG’s office said.
Additional Findings
The investigation further found that prior to cashing the forged money orders, Barnes allegedly used a mobile depositing app to deposit the same money orders, under his own name, into a bank account he controlled. Barnes then withdrew the money out of the account before the bank became aware of the fraud. Because mobile deposit enables a consumer to take a picture of a check or money order, while maintaining possession of the check or order itself, Barnes was allegedly able to then alter the money orders to substitute the name on the order and cash them a second time at local post offices, the AG’s office said.
The Richmond County indictment charges Barnes with the crimes of identity theft in the first degree, criminal possession of a forged instrument in the first and second degrees, and grand larceny in the fourth degree. If convicted, Barnes could face up to 7.5 to 15 years in prison.