https://www.webcenterfairbanks.com/2024/06/11/two-chicago-residents-charged-fraud-scheme-north-pole-restaurant/

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) - On June 11, an Alaska grand jury returned an indictment charging two Chicago residents with allegedly running a scheme to swindle a North Pole restaurant out of $128,000.

The court documents state that from July to August of 2022, 39-year-old Jacob Centeno and 35-year-old Amber Davila, allegedly hacked the restaurant owner’s email – illegally acquiring their banking and identification information. As a result, the defendants posed as the restaurant owners – allegedly stealing money from the restaurant and putting money into a separate account under a false identity.

An estimated $128,246 was collected into the defendants’ fraudulent bank account between Aug. 4 and Aug. 9, 2022, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Alaska.

On June 4, they were arrested in Chicago and charged with one count of aggravated identity theft; one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud; one count conspiracy to commit money laundering; and eight counts of money laundering.

If Centeno and Davila are convicted, they will face a mandatory minimum of two years for aggravated identity theft. Any further sentencing will be made by a federal district court judge.