A man from Pennsylvania, Marquise A. Billy, has been sentenced to 24 months in prison for his role in a bank fraud conspiracy. U.S. District Court Judge Bridget Meehan Brennan handed down the sentence after Billy, 31, of Long Pond, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. In addition to his prison sentence, Billy faces five years of supervised release and must pay restitution amounting to $107,800.
Court documents revealed that Billy and a co-conspirator, Rodney A. Martin, 62, from the Bronx, New York, orchestrated a scheme involving the cashing of fraudulent checks at pre-selected banks. The duo traveled from New York to Ohio on October 12, 2022, and targeted banks across the state, using fake United States passport identification cards for 14 individuals provided by Billy to Martin. Martin used these fake IDs to successfully cash fraudulent checks at various financial institutions, each transaction ranging between $4,500 and $5,500.
Authorities uncovered that Billy and Martin conducted multiple trips to Ohio and other locations for their fraudulent activities. They visited 21 banks to cash fake checks using the fake IDs supplied by Billy. Their targets in Ohio included banks located in Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Portage, Trumbull, and Wayne Counties. The total theft from community banks amounted to $107,800.
Previously, on February 6, 2024, U.S. District Court Judge John R. Adams sentenced Martin to 30 months in prison and five years of supervised release for his part in the conspiracy and for aggravated identity theft.
The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations, the Social Security Administration-Office of the Inspector General, the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office, and the New York City Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason W. White.