SHREVEPORT, La. – Damilola Bamidele Isaac Samuel, 22, a Nigerian citizen, has been sentenced for using fraudulent ATM bank cards to steal $260,726.09 from over two dozen Regions Bank customers, including elderly victims.
On July 20, 2020, Chief U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. ordered Samuel to serve 33 months in federal prison. Judge Hicks also sentenced Samuel, who pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud on December 10, 2019, to pay $276,790.39 in restitution. Following his release from prison, Damilola Samuel will be subject to deportation proceedings.
According to court documents, Samuel conspired with others to steal $260,726.09 from Regions Bank customers using fraudulently obtained ATM debit cards. Samuel carried out an account takeover scheme whereby he fraudulently set up accounts in legitimate bank customer’s names then transferred money from the customer’s legitimate account into those fraudulently created accounts. On multiple occasions, Samuel was captured on surveillance cameras utilizing ATM cards associated with the fraudulent checking accounts.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Shreveport Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leon H. Whitten prosecuted the case.