A New York man has copped to a scheme that involved impersonating Massachusetts residents and swiping cash from their bank accounts with phony passport cards. Jean Andre Bontiffe, 40, is set to plead guilty to a trio of bank fraud charges, in addition to one count of passport forgery and one count of aggravated identity theft, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Caught in New York last August, Bontiffe had attempted to sneak past TSA with a counterfeit California driver’s license that bore the name of one of his Bay State victims. Further probing found Bontiffe, venturing from the Bronx, trying to dip into the savings of three unsuspecting Massachusetts account holders between July 20-22, 2022 – illegally enriching himself to the tune of $13,800. In one botched heist at a TD Bank in North Andover, Mass., Bontiffe tried walking out with $4,500, but a mismatched signature raised alarm bells, leaving the perpetrator to flee as the bank clutched onto the fake documents.
If found guilty of all charges, Bontiffe could face harsh penalties: up to 10 years in the slammer for passport forgery, a max of 30 years for bank fraud, and a compulsory two-year sentence for the identity theft, which must run consecutively with any other time the court doles out. These sentences will be contingent upon the guidelines and statutes of a U.S. district court judge, who has yet to schedule a plea hearing for the case.
This case was brought to light by Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Matthew O'Brien, running the show at the Boston Field Office as Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service; and Paul Creazzo, Mamaroneck (New York) Police Department's top cop. Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke A. Goldworm from the Major Crimes Unit is marshaling the prosecution's charge against Bontiffe.
While the accusations detailed in the charging documents remain unproven allegations, the legal system maintains Bontiffe's presumption of innocence. This holds until such time as evidence presented in court satisfies the burden of proof, firmly planting guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
