U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo has announced charges against Talib Hussain, 74, and Mirza Khan, 46, both residents of Pittsford, NY. The charges include bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. If convicted, the penalties could reach up to 30 years in prison along with a $1 million fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan K. McGuire is managing the case. According to the complaint filed against them, since January 2015 several financial institutions have reported fraudulent credit card activities in Rochester. These institutions include JP Morgan Chase, Discover Financial Services, Pentagon Federal Credit Union, Bank of America, Barclay Bank, US Bank, Capital One and American Express.
The investigation revealed that many credit cards were linked through synthetic identities created using real social security numbers but false names and birth dates. These identities were used to obtain lines of credit which were then maxed out without any valid payments being made on the accounts.
Some fraudulent cards were used for paying property taxes to the City of Rochester and bills from Rochester Gas & Electric Corporation for properties such as Lucky Beverage on Norton Street, Chili Express on Chili Avenue and Easy Food Market on Plymouth Avenue. Between 2016 and 2022 approximately $163,000 was paid using these cards for property taxes alone.
Further investigations showed that Mirza Khan owns Lucky Beverage and Chili Express while his father Talib Hussain owns Easy Food Market.
The investigation was conducted by multiple agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation led by Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia; Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation New York under Harry Chavis; U.S. Postal Inspection Service Boston Division led by Inspector in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward; and Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General led by Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Amy Connelly.
It is important to note that an accusation does not equate guilt; defendants are presumed innocent until proven otherwise in court.