Four fraud defendants sentenced in North Carolina, one faces deportation

In a federal courtroom in Greensboro, North Carolina, a quartet involved in a multi-state fraud operation was handed prison terms totaling just under 16 years. The scheme, which netted $1.7 million, relied on business-email compromises, altered check schemes, counterfeit ACH transactions, and fraudulent applications for COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans and unemployment benefits. Victoria Stone opened ten bank accounts, moving more than $1 million and cashing out $187,000; William Atwater created numerous accounts, shuttling over $700,000 and withdrawing close to $400,000 through 150 concealed transactions.

Adedayo Fateru, a Nigerian citizen with U.S. permanent residency, was sentenced to seven years, three months and will be placed in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody for removal proceedings. Lisa Farrow received three years, nine months; Atwater two years, nine months; and Stone two years, one month. The case is part of a larger investigation that uncovered 17 fraud schemes across the Southeast, costing taxpayers about $27 million in North Carolina and $350 million regionally.