Federal Jury Convicts Man for Defrauding American Express of $4.7M

A California man has been convicted by a federal jury for reportedly defrauding American Express for over $4.7 million and money laundering, according to a Wednesday (April 27) press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The 45-year-old suspect, Jasminder Singh, reportedly made use of four business entities he both created and controlled, as well as 10 American Express credit cards established in the names of those entities. He used these things to buy thousands of Apple iPhones, which he allegedly sold internationally for millions of dollars.

The report said Singh misrepresented his inability to repay over $4.7 million in charges from buying the phones. He initiated fake payments in order to get more credit. With the proceeds of the scheme, Singh allegedly paid for personal expenses and was buying luxury items like a $1.3 million home and a luxury vehicle.

Singh was charged with bank fraud and money laundering, and his sentencing will happen on Aug. 2. The report said he might face up to 30 years in prison.

PYMNTS wrote that in another recent case, a Las Vegas grand jury indicted 76-year-old Michael Zeto for using fraudulent checks to steal money from victims’ bank accounts. He was charged with fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, per a press release from the DoJ.

Read more: Nevada Man Charged in 20-Count Fraudulent Check Indictment

Zeto was allegedly working with foreign telemarketers to get the names, bank account numbers and other information for the American consumers which he said had purchased products. However, they hadn’t agreed to buy the products or to authorize their bank accounts.

According to the report, Zeto knew at least one of the partners was doing fraudulent activities. In addition, he knew many of the supposed sales sent by the partners weren’t real, and that customers hadn’t authorized the accounts, per court documents.

Zeto reportedly used the info from the telemarketing partners to make fraudulent checks payable to the companies he controlled and arranged to open accounts with banks.