51°
According to the Office of the Attorney General, investigators found that the young men allegedly targeted financial institutions and consumers in Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, and York Counties.
Carl A. Gonzalez, 19, of Highspire, was arrested Thursday and arraigned. His bail was set at $10,000.
Tyreese Lewis, 22, of Harrisburg, was recently arrested in Los Angeles and arraigned in Dauphin County. He is being held without bail.
They were charged with numerous counts of the following charges:
- Corrupt organizations
- Identity theft
- Bank consumer impersonation
- Access device fraud
- Computer trespass
- Related offenses
“This was an elaborate scheme that involved impersonation of both bank employees and consumers to obtain personal information that enabled the defendants to steal millions of dollars,” Attorney General Henry said.
In addition to phony transfer and deposit transactions, Gonazlez and Lewis withdrew the money and/or the debit card information to purchase gift cards in an attempt to hide the thefts. The duo then made "purchases at a variety of locations, including department/apparel stores and gas stations, and reimbursed many gift cards for cash," as stated in the AG's release.
Investigators also seized several mobile devices which they analyzed and found hundreds of potential consumer targets and the investigators found communication about the theft scheme.
“All identity theft-related crimes cause significant financial stress for the victims, and often have long-term repercussions lasting months, if not years, to rectify,” said Pennsylvania State Police Captain James Cuttitta, Commander of the Special Investigations Division, Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
This case will be prosecuted by Chief Deputy Attorney General Patrick Schulte, but it is not the only case related to one of these schemers.
Tyreese Lewis may seem like a familiar name to Daily Voice readers, as we have reported on his fraudulent activities before. Lewis, along with two teenagers, stole $140,000 of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance funds from 2020 through 2021.
Lewis was convicted of half a dozen charges in connection with the PUA thefts in 2022– but he failed to show up to his sentencing. A warrant for his arrest was issued on Jan. 23, 2023, court records show.
His arrest is a huge breakthrough in both cases.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Bethlehem and receive free news updates.
