Roanoke Man Sentenced for Bank, Wire Frauds
Ahmad Al-Mikdadi to Serve to Prison Time
| U.S. Attorney’s Office March 12, 2012 |
ROANOKE, VA—A local man, who pled guilty in August 2011 to charges of making false statements, bank fraud, and wire fraud, was sentenced this morning in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia.
Ahmad Abedallah Al-Mikdadi, 42, of Roanoke, Virginia, previously pled guilty to one count of bank fraud, one count of wire fraud, and one count of making a material false statement to influence financial institutions.
This morning in District Court, Mikdadi was sentenced to 12 months and one day of federal incarceration to be followed by three years of supervised release. The defendant was also ordered to pay $67,762.79 in restitution.
“The investigation and prosecution of financial fraud is one of the highest priorities of the Department of Justice,” United States Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy said today. “Mr. Al-Mikdadi committed various acts of fraud against several financial institutions in an attempt to enrich himself. This case demonstrates our commitment to fraud enforcement, and the sentence imposed on this defendant demonstrates that fraud doesn’t pay in this District.”
In August, Al-Mikdadi admitted to obtaining a credit card based on false information as to his income and resources and to fraudulent use of various credit cards. Beginning in March 2009, the defendant made charges and cash withdrawals against credit cards for which he had no ability or intention to pay in a scheme known as a “bust-out” scheme. Mikdadi rapidly ran up charges and lulled the creditors into inactivity by phone calls, and by payments on the credit cards with insufficient fund checks and checks drawn on closed or nonexistent accounts. The charges made by Al-Mikdadi included, but were not limited to, the purchases of airline tickets that were not for his travel, which he sold for cash and cash advances.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Mott prosecuted the case for the United States.