HARFORD COUNTY, MD — A Belcamp man, Victor Ojo, has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for his involvement in a $1.5 million bank fraud conspiracy and the theft of $28,350 in unemployment benefits.
According to his guilty plea, Ojo, 30, conspired with others from April 2016 through at least August 2019 to commit bank fraud using stolen Employer Identification Numbers (EINs) from the IRS’s Modernized Internet Employer Identification Number system. Ojo and his co-conspirators created fake identities to open bank accounts, deposit altered checks, and receive wire transfers from compromised business emails. The funds were then withdrawn and transferred to other accounts.
Following his arrest, law enforcement uncovered various pieces of evidence linking Ojo to the fraudulent activities, including financial documents, items he wore in bank surveillance footage, a $14,000 check made out to someone else, and several fake IDs. Ojo was also found to have fraudulently claimed $28,350 in unemployment insurance benefits from the state of California by using a victim’s identity. He was issued a Bank of America debit card in the victim’s name, which he used to withdraw money from ATMs in Harford County.
In addition to his prison sentence, Ojo was ordered to forfeit $20,014.03 and pay $78,350 in restitution. After completing his sentence, Ojo will face three years of supervised release.
