An Essex County, New Jersey, man admitted illegally possessing a firearm and conspiring to defraud two banks of $250,000 using stolen credit cards and blank checks.
Tamir Duval, 22, of Newark, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to an indictment charging him with one count of illegal possession of a firearm, and to an information charging him with conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
According to U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig, documents filed in this case and statements made in court Duval unlawfully possessed a Taurus PT740 semi-automatic handgun loaded with seven hollow nose rounds of ammunition on July 27, 2020.
The firearm had been reported stolen from Gastonia, Georgia.
Duval was previously convicted in Essex County Superior Court of receiving stolen property, a felony under state law, which made him ineligible to legally possess a firearm.
From August 2018 through January 2020, Duval and others engaged in a scheme to use stolen credit cards and checks to fraudulently make purchases and withdraw money from two banks, leaving the banks to bear the losses of the scheme.
The credit cards and blank checks were stolen from various New Jersey-based postal facilities and never reached their intended recipients.
Duval and his conspirators use the credit cards and checks to make unauthorized purchases at various retail stores and withdraw cash from automated teller machines (ATMs) in New Jersey and elsewhere.
Duval and his conspirators altered the date, payee, and amount of the stolen checks prior to deposit and then fraudulently withdrew money at various ATMs from third-party account holders’ accounts.
Five of Duval’s conspirators – Nasheed Jackson, Alexander Varice, Dashawn Duncan, Allen Varice, and Qshaun Brown-Guinyard – previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme and have been sentenced or are awaiting sentencing.
The conspirators engaged in a scheme to use credit cards and checks stolen from U.S. Postal Service facilities in Pine Brook and Warren, to fraudulently make purchases and withdraw money from two banks, leaving the banks to bear the losses of the scheme.
Because the cards were stolen, they never reached the intended cardholders and the conspirators were able to use them to make unauthorized purchases at various retail stores and withdraw cash from automated teller machines (ATMs) in New Jersey and elsewhere.
The blank checks were also stolen from various New Jersey-based post office facilities, and never reached their intended recipients. Once obtained, the conspirators altered the date, payee, and amount of the stolen checks prior to deposit and then would fraudulently withdraw money at various ATMs from the third-party account holders’ accounts.
The charge of illegal possession of a firearm carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. The charge of conspiracy to commit bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 20, 2021.