21 People Indicted in Scheme to Defraud TD Bank Out of Almost $90,000

A total of 21 people have been indicted for their alleged roles in a scheme to defraud TD Bank out of $88,796 by taking cash advances at Atlantic City casinos against phony checks deposited into TD Bank accounts, Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced Thursday.

Those involved in the scheme allegedly took advantage of TD Bank’s policy of making funds available the same day a check is deposited.

Michael Williams, 35, of Sickerville, was indicted on second-degree counts of conspiracy, money laundering and theft by deception. The other 20 defendants are each charged with third-degree counts of conspiracy, money laundering and theft by deception.

Others indicted in the scheme include:

• Edward Smith, 31, of Clementon, N.J.;
• Jennifer Gathers, 35, of Bridgeton, N.J.;
• Antwan Cannon, 30, of Clementon, N.J.;
• Armissa Williams, 37, of Lindenwold, N.J.;
• Jose Ramos, 24, of Lindenwold, N.J.;
• Anais Ramos, 26, of Lindenwold, N.J.;
• Tidarat Johnson, 43, of Runnemede, N.J.;
• Neil Miller, 65, of Clementon, N.J.;
• Johnny Swain, 55, of Lindenwold, N.J.;
• Saleem Brown, 36, of Philadelphia, Pa.;
• Jennifer Polidoro, 30, of Pine Hill, N.J.;
• Mark Harley, 44, of Clementon, N.J.;
• Gail Whitner, 52, of Philadelphia, Pa.;
• William Taylor, 32, of Somerdale, N.J.;
• Lebaron Harvey, 33, of Camden, N.J.;
• Eric Puriefoy, 51, of Berlin, N.J.;
• Christina Honey, 30, of Pennsauken, N.J.;
• Santa Santiago, 34, of Vineland, N.J.;
• James Burch, 60, of Lindenwold, N.J.; and
• Barry Ettore, 54, of West Berlin, N.J.

Williams allegedly recruited the other defendants to either open a new TD Bank account or use their existing TD Bank account to use in the scheme.

After the account was opened or the account holder agreed to allow an existing account to be used, Williams allegedly would deposit a bad check into the account. The new accounts were opened with small deposits ranging from $2 to $30.

The bad checks were written for between $4,900 and $4,995.

One day after the bad check was deposited into the account, the account holder allegedly withdrew most of the funds through a Global Cash Access cash advance transaction in either the Bally’s Casino or the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City.

The alleged scheme was possible because TD Bank offers same-day availability of funds on checks deposited, so the funds were withdrawn before TD Bank was notified that the check was bad.

Williams allegedly permitted the other defendants to keep a small share of the stolen money in return for their participation in the scheme.

“We charge that Williams systematically exploited this bank’s customer-friendly policy, stealing several thousand dollars with each person he recruited into his criminal scheme,” Hoffman said. “Fortunately, his greed caught up with him when the bank detected his pattern of fraud and reported it to the New Jersey State Police.”

“As customers, we all value the convenience of electronic banking services, but those technologies also afford opportunities for crooks like Williams and his confederates to steal,” Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice said. “By aggressively prosecuting defendants like these, we are working to deter this type of fraud, which can harm individuals as well as businesses.”

Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a criminal fine of up to $150,000, while third-degree crimes carry a sentence of three to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $15,000.

The image of Michael Williams attached to this post was provided by the Attorney General’s Office