Monroe County Woman Admits to Scheme to Access and Steal from Bank Accounts

Dennis C. Pfannenschmidt, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced that a Monroe County woman pleaded guilty today before Senior U.S. District Court Judge William J. Nealon to participating in a scheme with others to access and unlawfully obtain more than $60,000 from accounts in a New Jersey bank.

Pfannenschmidt stated that Christine Fahmy, age 22, of Sciota, Pennsylvania, admitted to committing the offense in 2008 and early 2009. Fahmy admitted that when she was a teller at J.P. Morgan Chase and Company in Hackettstown, New Jersey, she accessed 12 customer account profiles and sold them to two individuals in Monroe County. As part of the scheme, Fahmy’s two confederates, Lavan Blair and Jonnell Gantt, used the customer profile information to have false identification documents made and used to access the accounts to obtain the money.

Blair and Gantt both previously pleaded guilty to bank fraud and attempted bank fraud as aiders and abettors. They are both awaiting sentencing.

Fahmy was charged in an information filed by the United States Attorney’s Office in April 2010. Fahmy’s charge resulted from an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Hackettstown, New Jersey, Police.

Pfannenschmidt noted that as a result of the guilty plea, Fahmy faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Judge Nealon scheduled sentencing for September 8, 2010.

Pfannenschmidt noted that the case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.