Ex-Citizens Bank Employee From Rhode Island Admits To Bank Fraud

PROVIDENCE, RI — A former Citizens Bank employee from Providence admitted to a federal judge that she stole banking information from customers and gave it to the leader of a bank fraud conspiracy.

Savonnah Briggs, 28, pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Briggs accessed customers' information and check images, and then provided screenshots to Richard Kobi, 27, of Providence, the conspiracy's ringleader.

Prosecutors said Kobi used the stolen information to create fake checks. He deposited some of the checks into his bank account, prosecutors said. Kobi also paid people he solicited on Facebook to deposit checks into their bank accounts, according to prosecutors.

After the checks were deposited, Koboi and others involved in the conspiracy rapidly withdrew cash from ATMs and banks, prosecutors said. According to court documents, conspiracy members deposited about $330,000 worth of counterfeit checks.

Briggs was scheduled to be sentenced on April 25. Kobi pleaded guilty on April 27, 2022, to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, 10 counts of bank fraud and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced in December 2022 to three years in federal prison.