A Bergen County woman was sentenced today to 63 months in prison for an elaborate bank fraud scheme resulting in losses of more than $2 million, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig announced.
According to federal officials, Alexis Taylor, 32, of Hackensack, previously pleaded guilty in Newark federal court to one count of an indictment charging her with conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From March 2017 to June 2018, Taylor agreed with others to execute a scheme to defraud various financial institutions located in New Jersey, New York, and elsewhere.
She purchased a significant amount of stolen personal identifying information via the dark web, including bank account information and online security question answers. Taylor then used the information to access victim accounts at various banks and other financial institutions.
Taylor, and others acting at her direction, would travel to banks and impersonate victim account holders to withdraw funds from accounts held by the victims at those institutions.
Taylor would also communicate with the banks by phone and request that wire transfers be made from victim accounts and into accounts held by Taylor. Finally, it was part of the scheme that Taylor would travel to victims’ homes and intercept debit cards and other financial documents from the mail to facilitate the fraud.
In addition to the prison term, Taylor was sentenced to four years of supervised release. A hearing on restitution is scheduled for May 10.