U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey sentenced George Sciarrone, 54, of New York City, to 61 months in prison and ordered him to repay $30,000 to victims of a bank fraud scheme. The federal prison sentence will follow a sentence he is currently serving on an unrelated matter.
Sciarrone pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in February to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, six counts of bank fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft. He admitted that prior to September 28, 2022, organizers of a bank fraud scheme identified financial accounts of Missouri residents and recruited Sciarrone and others to deposit counterfeit checks into those accounts and withdraw the money. The organizers produced counterfeit driver’s licenses and credit cards bearing the names of the account holders and pictures of the recruited individuals.
Sciarrone admitted depositing checks ranging from $3,800 to $4,000 into five banks using the names of six different people between September 28, 2022, and October 7, 2022.
Valerie Kelly, 46, also of New York City, pleaded guilty in November to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, four counts of bank fraud, and three counts of using a counterfeit access device. She admitted using the identities of six people to deposit fraudulent checks ranging from $3,500 to $4,500 into five banks and attempting to cause losses exceeding $80,000 to more than ten victims.
In March, Judge Autrey sentenced Kelly to 15 months in prison and ordered her to repay $69,100.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Bridgeton Police Department, Creve Coeur Police Department, Florissant Police Department, Richmond Heights Police Department, St. Charles City Police Department, and Wentzville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry prosecuted the case.
