Source: Office of United States Attorneys
NEWARK, N.J. – A dual U.S. and Greek national was charged for a multimillion-dollar bank fraud conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.
Dino Koutsogiannis, 57, of Fairview, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Koutsogiannis made his initial appearance on March 4, 2024, before U.S. Magistrate Judge André M. Espinosa in Newark federal court and was detained.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From July 2022 to July 2023, Koutsogiannis and others conspired to defraud multiple financial institutions by conducting a “bust-out” debit card conspiracy. As part of the scheme, Koustogiannis and his conspirators would create shell companies and open bank accounts in those companies’ names. Koustogiannis and the conspirators would then fund those accounts with nominal funds. Then, after a few months with no activity, Koutsogiannis and the conspirators would fund the accounts via transfers from external sources, including accounts controlled by Koustogiannis and the conspirators. Several weeks later, Koutsogiannis and the conspirators would make very large debit purchases over the course of several days from those accounts, causing those accounts to accrue significantly negative balances, frequently in the amount of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
After the bust-out was complete and the accounts were left in significant negative balances, the victim financial institutions would then close the accounts. But Koutsogiannis and his conspirators would nevertheless continue executing the scheme with bank accounts at other financial institutions. Koustigannis and the conspirators executed this scheme numerous times at six victim financial institutions between July 2022 and July 2023, causing those institutions approximately $2.8 million in losses.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 years and a fine of up to $1 million.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Alfonso, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the Springfield Police Department, the Teaneck Police Department, and the New Jersey State Police.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Chana Y. Zuckier of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.
The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.