Lowell man admits role in multi-million-dollar bank fraud scheme

BOSTON — A Lowell man is among two Massachusetts residents who pleaded guilty recently to a sweeping bank‑fraud operation that stole more than $1.1 million from customers at major banks across New England.

Keith Wainaina, 24, is accused of depositing or attempting to deposit more than $762,000 in stolen funds into bank accounts he controlled as part of the scheme, which court documents state targeted customers at Santander Bank, TD Bank, Bank of America, Citizens Bank and Chase Bank in communities such as Brookline and Braintree, as well as locations in Connecticut and Rhode Island.

One of his co-defendants, Victor Kolawole, 26, of Brockton, deposited about $373,000 in cashier's checks drawn on victims' accounts into bank accounts he controlled, according to a U.S. Attorney Leah Foley's office.

Both Wainaina and Kolawole have pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

They were arrested in July along with four others named in the affidavit, including Marvin Kimani, also of Lowell, as well as Phalentz Vernot, of Waltham; Selby Okai, of Worcester; and Yves Bissainthe, of Randolph, all of whom face charges connected to the scheme.

Prosecutors said the operation began no later than December 2022 and involved Vernot obtaining victims' personal information — including names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and bank‑account numbers — without authorization.

Vernot and Wainaina recruited "imposters," prosecutors said, provided them with fake identification documents bearing victims' names and the imposters' photos and drove them to banks to withdraw large sums in the form of cashier's checks. Wainaina and Kolawole then deposited those checks into bank accounts they controlled and used the funds to purchase additional cashier's checks payable to Vernot.

Prosecutors said Vernot used some of the stolen funds to pay bank insiders who intentionally bypassed customer‑verification protocols to facilitate the scheme.

An affidavit filed in federal court describes how the group also compensated the imposters they recruited.

In one text exchange obtained by authorities, Okai told Vernot he would pay an imposter "so she stay happy" to keep her willing to make larger withdrawals, though she later backed away because she had not been paid, the affidavit states.

In another instance, Vernot prepared two envelopes of money for Okai — one for Okai and another for an imposter. According to the affidavit, "Vernot explained that the money for the imposter was 'not a lot but enough to make her get back to work.'"

Wainaina's attorney, Jason Benzaken, was not immediately available for comment.

Kolawole's attorney, Daniel Reilly, provided a statement to The Sun saying, "Mr. Kolawole is a young man that was led astray by Mr. Vernot."

"He made regrettable choices at his behest," Reilly added. "Nonetheless, he has accepted full and complete responsibility for his own actions, and expresses sincere remorse. He looks forward to the day when the victims of these crimes have been made whole, and to putting this chapter of life behind him so that he can move forward as a wiser, productive member of society."

Kolawole is scheduled to be sentenced July 23, while Wainaina is slated for sentencing on Sept. 9.

Vernot previously pleaded guilty in December and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 22.

The bank‑fraud charges are punishable by up to 30 years in prison and fines of up to $1 million. The money‑laundering conspiracy charge carries up to 20 years, and the aggravated identity‑theft charge includes a mandatory two years on top of any other sentence.

Foley's office noted in a press release that the investigation received valuable assistance from several police agencies, including the Dracut Police Department.

Follow Aaron Curtis on X @aselahcurtis, or on Bluesky @aaronscurtis.bsky.social.