Erick Jason Victoria-Brito has been extradited from the Dominican Republic to face charges in New York related to an international bank fraud and money laundering scheme. The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle R. Sassoon, along with Patrick J. Freaney, Special Agent in Charge of the US Secret Service's New York Field Office, announced that Victoria-Brito is accused of conspiring to commit bank fraud and money laundering between December 2017 and November 2022.
The indictment alleges that Victoria-Brito and his co-conspirators registered over 1,000 fake businesses to open bank accounts for receiving funds obtained through business email compromise schemes. These activities reportedly resulted in more than $60 million in actual losses and attempted thefts exceeding $150 million.
U.S. Attorney Sassoon stated: "As we allege, Erick Jason Victoria-Brito and his co-conspirators ran an international bank fraud and money laundering scheme designed to help carry out business email compromise scams. These scams cause significant harm to businesses, nonprofits, and even local governments."
Patrick J. Freaney commented on the investigation: "This alleged scheme rained down financial ruin upon unwitting businesses and individuals... I commend the investigators and prosecutors for their commitment to disrupting this type of insidious fraud on behalf of all those victimized by it."
According to court documents, the scheme targeted various entities including a major American sports organization, a publicly traded healthcare company, an international nonprofit organization, city governments, law firms, construction companies, and investment funds between 2020 and 2021.
Victoria-Brito faces one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud with a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas S. Burnett and Amanda C. Weingarten from the General Crimes Unit.