Laurel Man Sentenced For Role In Bank Fraud Scheme

LAUREL, MD — A Laurel man has been sentenced for his involvement in a fraud scheme as well as being a felon in possession of a gun and ammunition.

Archie Arnold Paul, also known as Carter Hill and Zion Davis, pleaded guilty to conspiring with several others to defraud a bank. Paul, 31, was the leader and organizer of the scheme. He and his cohorts manufactured fraudulent identification documents displaying personal identifying information of the victims but used others' photographs, according to his plea agreement.

Paul and others involved in the scheme impersonated the victims, opened bank accounts in their names and made large withdrawals of money that belonged to the victims. Two others worked at the bank and assisted in opening the bank accounts in the victims' names using the fake information, court documents showed.

Paul and his co-conspirators, using the personal information of more than 10 victims, defrauded the bank of $151,091.16 and tried to obtain more than $405,000. Paul has been sentenced to 78 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft and for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. He was ordered to pay at least $151,091.16 in restitution and to forfeit a 9mm caliber semi-automatic pistol without a serial number and more than 250 rounds of 9mm ammunition recovered during a search warrant executed at his home in May 2020.