Georgia Man Sentenced for Bank Fraud Conspiracy and Identity Theft

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Hampshire

CONCORD – A Georgia man was sentencing today in federal court in Concord for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney Jane E. Young announces.

Lester Aceituno, 40, was sentenced by Chief United States District Court Judge Landya B. McCafferty to 30 months in prison.  The defendant was convicted by a federal jury on November 3, 2023, after a five-day trial. Aceituno and his two co-defendants, Kizito Chukwujekwu and Chinedu Ihejiere, were indicted on August 24, 2020. Kizito Chukwujekwu pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and was sentenced on November 23, 2021. Co-defendant Kizito Chukwujekwu pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and was sentenced on November 23, 2021.

“The defendant and his co-conspirators brazenly stole and used other identities to achieve their scheme,” said U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young. “Today’s sentence sends a clear message to fraudsters like the defendant that such activity will not be tolerated, and this Office will continue to aggressively prosecute those who victimize members of the public.”

“Lester Aceituno saw it as easy money,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “He stole the identities of unsuspecting victims and amassed tens of thousands of dollars. What he didn’t account for was the FBI and our partners catching him. Anyone who engages in this sort of criminal behavior should know the FBI is hard at work rooting out financial fraudsters like him and bringing them to justice like we did in this case.”

“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service will aggressively investigate and seek prosecution of individuals like Lester Aceituno, who along with his co-conspirators, stole identities and cashed out on the scheme,” said Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division.  “The burden of identity theft for victims is financially devastating and creates significant inconveniences.  We will continue to support and collaborate with our federal law enforcement partners to stop those who are engaged in these types of schemes.”

Between June of 2016 and October of 2017, Aceituno and others used stolen identities to open accounts at banks in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Georgia.  Aceituno opened or accessed post office boxes in Massachusetts and Georgia to receive debit cards and pin numbers to access these accounts. Aceituno’s co-conspirators then deposited fraudulent checks totaling more than $119,000.  After the money was credited to the accounts, but before the bank determined the checks were false, one of Aceituno’s co-conspirators withdrew the money and gave it to another co-conspirator, the leader of the scheme.

The United States Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation led the investigation. Valuable assistance was provided by the Brockton, Massachusetts Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew T. Hunter and Geoffrey W.R. Ward are prosecuting the case.

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