On December 28, 2023, in the Southern District of New York, Scott DiBerardino pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. He was sentenced to 48 months of imprisonment, 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $790,000 in restitution.

From July 2018 through May 2022, DiBerardino, a co-defendant, and co-conspirators used false identification documents to impersonate at least dozens of individuals in order to access and open bank accounts held in the victims’ names, without their knowledge. DiBerardino then withdrew funds from the accounts or used the accounts to cash or deposit stolen and fraudulent checks. In one instance, a co-conspirator deposited a stolen genuine U.S. Treasury tax refund check in the amount of $165,000 into the account of one of the victims. In another, a co-conspirator deposited a second stolen genuine U.S. Treasury tax refund check in the amount of $166,483.54 into the account of one of the victims.  

The investigation led to the identification of more than 27 individual victims, 3 victim banks and losses and attempted losses of more than $597,670.

Source: The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: S.D.N.Y. Judgement filed Dec, 28, 2023; S.D.N.Y. Crim. Compl. filed June 16, 2022; and S.D.N.Y. Indict. filed Nov. 7, 2022