A federal grand jury has indicted 14 people, including alleged insiders at major banking and telecommunications institutions, in connection with a nationwide bank account takeover scheme that authorities say resulted in losses exceeding $370 million. Prosecutors allege the operation targeted victims across the United States, and a 35-year-old Dallas man is accused of orchestrating it.
The indictment was announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas, which confirmed the grand jury handed up charges against the 14 defendants over their alleged roles in the scheme. According to FBI - Dallas, authorities allege the conspiracy resulted in losses exceeding $370 million, with the defendants accused of participating in a scheme that targeted victims nationwide.
Muhamed Dieye, 35, of Dallas, is accused of leading the operation. The same post from the bureau's Dallas field office described the case as involving alleged insiders at major banking and telecommunications institutions, suggesting the scheme relied on access inside the very systems meant to protect customer accounts.
Charges Include Wire Fraud, Bank Fraud and Identity Theft
The defendants face charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft, per the FBI's announcement. The case was publicized alongside a graphic labeled “FBI Case Update: Indictment,” underscoring that the matter is still working its way through the federal system following the grand jury's action.
Additional details reported by Gazette Nigeria describe Dieye as the alleged conspiracy's leader and chief architect, and state that the scheme ran from July 2023 through November 2024. During that period, the defendants allegedly conspired to obtain personally identifying information, according to the outlet's account of the case.
Spreadsheet Allegedly Listed Nearly 3,000 Victims
Gazette Nigeria also reported that Dieye possessed a spreadsheet containing detailed personal and business information for nearly 3,000 individual victims, who collectively held over $373 million across their bank accounts. That figure, drawn from the outlet's reporting on the indictment, aligns closely with the loss total cited by federal authorities.
The Dallas case is not the only recent instance of alleged large-scale bank account takeover activity to draw federal attention. In a separate matter, the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs said Sergei Anatolyevich Filimonov, 36, a Russian national and web developer, was allegedly involved in a transnational cyber-fraud conspiracy responsible for large-scale bank account takeover activity and was arraigned following his extradition to the United States.
No additional details about the Dallas case's current court status, the defendants' pleas, or the specific financial institutions allegedly involved have been confirmed in official statements released so far.
