CALIFORNIA — A federal indictment unsealed on June 17 charges Ayman Alaaraj, 48, of Sacramento, and Ahmad Nassar, 38, of Elk Grove, with operating a sophisticated scheme to defraud elderly victims of over $794,000 through bank fraud and identity theft.
According to court documents, in May 2023, Nassar used advanced tactics such as phone number porting to bypass dual-factor authentication and gain control of multiple bank accounts belonging to two elderly victims at separate banks.
After accessing the accounts, Nassar and Alaaraj drained funds and ran up credit card debts. They funneled stolen money through pass-through accounts created by Nassar and through Alaaraj’s businesses — Balance Bookkeeping, Tax and Notary and Atheer Investments — moving over $100,000.
The defendants then disbursed the funds via ATM withdrawals, personal checks, Western Union, Zelle, credit card payments, online gambling, and a Mercedes purchase.
Nassar, previously convicted of access device possession and aggravated identity theft, was released from prison in March 2021 but was rearrested in February 2024 for violating supervised release.
Alaaraj was ordered to self-surrender on June 19, 2025.
If convicted, both face up to 30 years in prison and $1 million fines per bank fraud count, plus mandatory sentences for identity theft and access device fraud.
