Lake Tahoe Area Man Indicted For Committing $4.5 Million Bank Fraud Scheme And Identity Theft

RENO – A Glenbrook, Nevada, man was arrested yesterday in Reno on criminal charges related to allegedly obtaining at least $4.5 million through a bank fraud scheme.

According to allegations in the indictment, in April and May 2019, Sukhdev Singh Sidhu (36) used more than 26 bank accounts at over 11 financial institutions to carry out his bank fraud scheme. Sidhu falsely claimed that he did not authorize Automated Clearing House withdrawals from his bank accounts. But in fact, Sidhu knew the withdrawals were being deposited in “pass-through” accounts that were held in his father’s name, and the monies were then transferred to a receiving account that Sidhu controlled at a different bank. As a result of the false claims, Sidhu obtained at least $4.5 million by the banks. Further, Sidhu fraudulently used his father’s identity — specifically, a driver’s license belonging to his father and a check drawn for an account in his father’s name — to execute the scheme.

Sidhu made his initial court appearance yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Carla Baldwin. A jury trial is scheduled for February 14, 2022 before U.S. District Judge Robert C. Jones. Sidhu is charged with three counts of bank fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft. If convicted, he faces a statutory maximum penalty of 30 years in prison for bank fraud and a mandatory minimum penalty of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft.

Acting U.S. Attorney Christopher Chiou for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Aaron C. Rouse for the FBI made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven Myhre and Richard Casper are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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