Bank Employee Used Position To Facilitate Elaborate Fraud Scheme, Prosecutors Say

Jalen Craig McMillan, 30, of Jessup, was convicted by a federal jury for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft on Friday, Feb. 16, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron said.

Prosecutors laid out evidence during McMillan’s four-day trial of his intent to use his position as a “Member Service Representative” at a federal credit union to open accounts and loan transactions in the names of identity theft victims.

Court documents say co-defendant Archie Paul and his co-conspirators “obtained, possessed and used fictitious identities and the personal identifying information (“PII”) of real persons (the “victims”), which Paul and co-defendant John Fitzgerald Washington used to manufacture and procure false identification documents displaying the PII of the victims, but photographs of others.”

Paul, along with co-defendant Tiffany Rainel Williams and others, then used the false identification documents to impersonate the victims, as well as open bank accounts and conduct financial transactions in their names, including making large withdrawals from the victims’ accounts.

McMillan was also convicted of aggravated identity theft for providing the identifying information of a bank customer to Paul for the purpose of facilitating the fraud.

In total, prosecutors say conspirators intended to fraudulently obtain more than $400,000 from the bank and successfully defrauded the bank of more than $150,000.   

McMillan’s co-defendants include Paul Archie, a/k/a “Carter Hill” and “Zion Davis,” 31, of Laurel, Maryland; John Fitzgerald Washington, 52, of Waldorf, Maryland, and Tiffany Rainel Williams, 37, of Glenarden, Maryland, all whom previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy and are awaiting sentencing.

The US Secret Service and City of Laurel Police Department assisted with the investigation.

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