A Chicago duo has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Alaska on charges of defrauding a North Pole restaurant out of approximately $128,000 by employing a meticulously crafted scheme involving identity theft and money laundering. According to information released by the U.S. Attorney's Office, from July to August 2022, 39-year-old Jacob Centeno and 35-year-old Amber Davila are alleged to have illegally obtained banking and identification information by hijacking the email accounts of the restaurant and its owner, then diverting the business's proceeds to a bank account they controlled under a fabricated identity.

During the short time span between August 4 and August 9, 2022, the accused reportedly funneled precisely $128,246 into their fraudulent account, the account they crafted was just a fragment of their elaborate scheme, which was extended through Chicago where they bought over $41,000 in money orders. The money orders were then deposited into various personal and business accounts in amounts designed to slip under the regulatory radar — all under $10,000. They are facing a slate of charges, including one count of aggravated identity theft, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, five counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and eight counts of money laundering, the release stated by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The FBI offices in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Chicago, along with the North Pole Police Department, worked in concert to untangle the web spun by the alleged fraudsters. U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker of the District of Alaska and Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day of the FBI Anchorage Field Office spearheaded the announcement of the indictment. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carly Vosacek and Michael Heyman are set to prosecute the case, with the notable legal backup coming from the Northern District of Illinois.

Centeno and Davila were taken into custody on June 4 in Chicago, and though an indictment is not a conviction, it casts a long shadow of accusation over the accused, who, if proven guilty, face a statutory minimum of two years for the aggravated identity theft charge alone, a sentence which must be served consecutively to any other punishment meted out for their alleged crimes, the case underscores the persistent risk of digital ease falling prey to digital thievery. Those who believe they may have been victims of similar schemes are encouraged to report their suspicions to federal authorities through the FBI's tip line or the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).