Twelve individuals, hailing from Venezuela and Colombia, face charges of bank fraud and transactions involving criminally derived property, following the unsealing of an indictment in Salt Lake City, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The accused were rounded up by a federal grand jury in April 2025, outlining allegations of a scheme to deceive financial institutions in Utah and beyond, purportedly executed between January 2023 and June 2023.
The court documents reveal an intricate plot where defendants allegedly opened bank accounts using bogus cashier's checks. These accounts then supposedly saw multiple counterfeit checks deposited at various branches in a single day, as the group sought to wash the funds through checks, cashier's checks, and, strangely enough, cash withdrawals. Acting United States Attorney Felice John Viti highlighted the unsealing of the indictment but reminded the public that an indictment is no more than an allegation, with the defendants preserving their presumption of innocence until—if proven—guilt is established in the courts.
Salt Lake County is the listed residence for these eleven Venezuelan nationals and one sole Colombian national, including individuals like 36-year-old Gilberto Emiro Andrade-Romero from Venezuela, and Patricia Del Carmen Orozco-Cuello, aged 37, from Colombia. The probe into their alleged activities was spearheaded by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in conjunction with an HSI Task Force Officer of the Salt Lake City Police Department.
