Miami man stole IDs of 50 bank clients, swindling $2M from their accounts, feds say
From his base in Miami, a 24-year-old man is accused of stealing the identities of about 50 people and tapping into their bank accounts to wire more than $2 million to himself and others, according to a federal indictment.
Latron Earl Williams obtained the personal information of customers at Citibank and used it to pose as the account holders in a nationwide scheme that lasted from April 2022 to March 2023, the indictment reveals.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in MIami say he then arranged for accomplices to withdraw the funds to hide his involvement in the alleged scheme. The indictment lists eight bank-fraud transfers ranging from $20,000 to $40,000 apiece.
Williams, who was granted a $250,000 bond in Miami federal court on Wednesday following his arrest, is scheduled for arraignment on eight bank-fraud and two aggravated identity-theft charges on March 12. If convicted, he faces up to 30 years on the fraud charges and a mandatory minimum of two years on each of the ID-theft charges.
His defense attorney, Larry Handfield, declined to comment because he has not seen the government’s evidence in the new case.
The case was investigated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Secret Service.
This story was originally published February 22, 2024 at 5:00 PM.
