New York man sentenced for identity theft ring with Arizona, Colorado and California victims

A New York man was sentenced last week to nearly five years in prison for his role in an identity theft ring that defrauded victims in Arizona, Colorado and California.

On Tuesday, a federal judge in Tucson sentenced Richard Modou Bah, a 22-year-old Bronx resident, to 58 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release.

Bah previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona said Bah and co-conspirators used personal identifying information and fake documents to open phony business accounts under the names of their victims. They then transferred funds from the victims’ legitimate accounts to the fake accounts before withdrawing the stolen money through banks and casinos.

Bah recruited and supervised people who impersonated the identity theft victims, prosecutors said.

Earlier this year, a California man received a 37-month prison sentence for his role in the identity theft ring. Like Bah, Muhammed Drammeh of Huntington Beach pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

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