Source: Office of United States Attorneys
PROVIDENCE, RI – A California man, described in court documents as a key participant in business email compromise and money laundering scams that allegedly defrauded businesses, individuals, and the Town of Bristol, Rhode Island, out of nearly $9 million dollars has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Rhode Island on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft charges, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.
The indictment alleges that a member of the conspiracy sent phishing emails to individuals, corporations, and the Town of Bristol that, when opened, allowed the senders to access to the recipients’ computer networks. After gaining access to the victims’ networks, it is alleged that Alec Tahir Baker, 60, of Corona, CA, and/or his co-conspirators, directed the victims’ banks to transfer money into an account controlled by Baker or another conspirator.
As detailed in the indictment, it is also alleged that a member of the conspiracy would email employees of the victim companies by posing as a vendor seeking payment. The co-conspirator would then provide the employee with new bank account information into which funds should be paid, causing the employees to unwittingly send company funds to a bank account controlled by Baker or another conspirator.
The indictment goes on to allege that as part of the conspiracy, Baker would provide false information and documents (at times fraudulently using the names of real people) to banks that had asked him for further details regarding funds that were being wired into his account, and falsely claimed that he had a business relationship with a victim company. .,.
It is further alleged that as part of the conspiracy, Baker opened over 40 bank accounts in his name and in the name of any one more than a dozen companies that he created, in order to receive fraudulently obtained funds. Soon after funds were received into his accounts, Baker allegedly withdrew some of the money in cash and cashiers’ checks; transferred funds to separate accounts he controlled, including to Coinbase and other cryptocurrency accounts, and also transferred funds to accounts in the names of other individuals and entities, who were in turn directed to transfer the fraudulent funds to others, concealing their origin.
The indictment alleges that individuals and businesses were defrauded of at least $8,854,243, and that approximately $7,649,876 in fraudulent proceeds were transmitted to bank accounts under Baker’s control.
In addition to targeting corporate victims, the indictment alleges that on January 18, 2023, a member of the conspiracy gained access to the computer network used by the Town of Bristol, Rhode Island. The next day, a member of the conspiracy caused $310,500 to be wired from one of the Town’s bank accounts into a business account controlled by Baker, who then withdrew or transferred funds from that account and deposited the money into other accounts he controlled. These included, as alleged in the indictment:
- A January 20, 2023, withdrawal of $75,000 with the notation that funds were for “Q1 salary”;
- A January 23, 2024, withdrawal of $144,700 via a bank check payable to a company Baker controlled; and
- A January 23, 2024, withdrawal of $89,169.87 in the form of a cashier’s check made payable to a company under his control. The cashier’s check was deposited into another account controlled by Baker. Over the next week, he withdrew $46,000 from the account into which the cashier’s check was deposited.
The indictment returned on Wednesday charges Baker with conspiracy to commit money laundering, bank fraud, and two counts of aggravated identity theft. A federal indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The defendant was first charged in this ongoing investigation by way of a Criminal Complaint, filed and sealed on November 1, 2024. He was arrested in Dallas, TX, on November 5, 2024, and ordered detained after his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Dallas. He will be transported to Rhode Island and appear for arraignment in U.S. District Court in Providence on a date yet to be determined.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lee H. Vilker and Denise M. Barton .
The matter is being investigated by the FBI. United States Attorney Cunha thanks the Bristol, RI Police Department; Genesee County, New York Sheriff’s Office; Baltimore County, MD Police Department; Hartland, Wisconsin Police Department; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas for their assistance.
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