Germantown Man Sentenced to 26 Months in Prison for Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud

WASHINGTON—Mohammed Ngena, 34, of Germantown, Maryland, was sentenced today by the Honorable Gladys Kessler to 26 months of incarceration for his role in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor announced.

Ngena pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud before Judge Kessler on July 22, 2008. During the time Ngena was a member of the bank fraud conspiracy, he and his co-conspirators engaged in a counterfeit check scheme by which they sought to defraud financial institutions of more than 300,000 dollars.

The evidence established that between May 2004 and August 2004, Ngena and his co-conspirators created, deposited and attempted to cash counterfeit checks in Washington, D.C. and in Las Vegas, Nevada. After a failed attempt to cash a $300,000 counterfeit check in Las Vegas , Ngena and his co-conspirators successfully negotiated a $15,000 counterfeit check in Washington, D.C. Rather than splitting the proceeds with his co-conspirators as planned, Ngena withdrew the $15,000 from his account and fled.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Taylor commended the investigative work of FBI Special Agents Robert Schwinger and Thomas Chadwick. He also praised Legal Assistant Lisa Robinson for her work on the case. Finally, Mr. Taylor commended Assistant U.S. Attorneys G. Bradley Weinsheimer and Thomas J. Hibarger, who prosecuted the case.