A New York resident has admitted guilt in a Boston federal court to charges of using fake United States passport cards to access Massachusetts bank accounts. Jean Andre Bontiffe, aged 41, pleaded guilty to three counts of bank fraud, one count of forgery or false use of a passport, and one count of aggravated identity theft. Chief U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV has scheduled the sentencing for May 6, 2025. Bontiffe faced initial charges in October 2023.
Bontiffe's arrest occurred on August 9, 2022, at LaGuardia Airport in New York when he attempted to bypass TSA screening with a counterfeit California driver's license bearing the name of one Massachusetts victim. Investigations uncovered that between July 20 and July 22, 2022, Bontiffe traveled from New York to Massachusetts and made nine attempts to withdraw funds from accounts belonging to three victims residing in Massachusetts. The total amount stolen was $13,800.
On July 20, 2022, Bontiffe entered a TD Bank branch located in North Andover, Massachusetts. He presented a U.S. passport and a Discover credit card under the name of a Massachusetts account holder as identification while attempting to withdraw $4,500 from the account. Due to discrepancies in signatures, the bank refused the transaction and seized both the passport and credit card before Bontiffe fled.
The legal consequences for forging or using a forged passport include up to ten years imprisonment, three years supervised release, and fines reaching $250,000. Bank fraud charges carry potential penalties of up to thirty years imprisonment with five years supervised release plus fines up to $250,000. Aggravated identity theft results in a mandatory two-year prison term served consecutively with other sentences imposed.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Matthew O’Brien of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service's Boston Field Office; and Paul Creazzo from Mamaroneck Police Department in New York. Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke A. Goldworm is handling prosecution duties for this case.