Maryland Man Pleads Guilty in Identity Theft Scheme
25 Victims and More Than 40 Accounts Compromised

WASHINGTON—Oladayo Oladokun, 37, pled guilty today to a charge of aggravated identity theft stemming from a scheme in which he took over financial accounts belonging to about 25 victims. In total, more than 40 financial accounts were taken over, fraudulently used, possessed, or opened without the victims’ authorization, causing more than $300,000 in losses.

The guilty plea took place in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr.; James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Keith A. Fixel, Acting Inspector in Charge, Washington Division, U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Andrew C. Adelmann, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Washington Field Office, U.S. Secret Service.

Oladokun, most recently of Lanham, Md., pled guilty before the Honorable Judge Ellen S. Huvelle and is to be sentenced April 1, 2011. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of two years’ incarceration.

According to the government’s evidence, Oladokun and others engaged in a scheme to defraud bank and credit card companies through an account takeover scheme. An account takeover occurs when co-conspirators obtain names and identifying information of victims, and then using this information, call the victims’ banks and credit card companies pretending to be the real account holders.

Once in possession of the victims’ checks and/or credit cards, Oladokun and others engaged in financial transactions such as buying goods and services, depositing the bank checks into accounts opened in the names of other victims, cashing checks, and purchasing money orders.

From July 2008 to August 2010, the defendant was involved with account takeovers of numerous financial accounts. Banks, credit card companies, and others suffered losses with respect to these accounts in the approximate total amount of $301,431.

Oladokun admitted in court that he engaged in identity theft, knowing that the victims were actual persons.

In announcing today’s guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge McJunkin, Acting Inspector in Charge Fixel, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Adelmann commended the work of those who investigated the matter for the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the U.S. Secret Service. They also commended the staff of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Diane Hayes and Sarah Reis, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Virginia Cheatham, who prosecuted the case.