How did a Ukiah man steal $20K in a ‘sophisticated’ interstate fraud scheme?

The following is a press release issued by the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office:

A 23-year-old Ukiah man pled guilty to felony identity theft, money laundering, and grand theft that bilked a Pleasant Hill victim of nearly 20-thousand dollars.  

Andrew William McCormick was charged on February 20^th, 2024, with felony violations of conspiracy to defraud, identity theft, false impersonation, money laundering, and grand theft in a scheme he executed in Florida targeting an account holder at a Chase Bank branch in Pleasant Hill. 

McCormick began his financial crime by opening a legitimate account in his name on July 22, 2022, at a Chase Bank branch in Ukiah. He then scheduled an in-person appointment at a Chase Bank branch in Plantation, Florida for August 26, 2022. 

He flew to Florida on August 25^th and met with a co-conspirator who impersonated the Pleasant Hill victim and used the victim’s stolen identifying information. While in Florida, the two went to the pre-scheduled bank meeting where they opened a joint account and linked it to the victim’s checking account. Later, McCormick made phone transfers totaling $19,956.44 from the victim’s account to the new one and then made an electronic transfer of $12,300 to his account in Ukiah. McCormick continued to make electronic transfers and cash withdrawals from five other bank branches until he drained the victim’s account. He left Florida later that day.

Pleasant Hill Police Officer Andrew Mundy investigated for several months piecing together information obtained through multiple search warrants to build a solid case against McCormick. Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton noted, “When it comes to financial crimes, the challenges can be steep. But Officer Mundy’s impressive investigation and DDA Dana Filkowski’s thorough preparation for prosecution led to a just outcome for the victim of this crime”  

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McCormick pled guilty to the following charges shortly before the preliminary hearing began on October 3^rd, 2024: Identity theft [PC 530.5(a)], money laundering [PC 186.10(a)], and grand theft of personal property [PC 487(a)]. McCormick faces 240 days in county jail and will repay the victim the amount he stole. Moreover, he will be on probation for two years.  

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency offers four easy tips to stay safe online: 1) Use strong passwords (long, random, and unique with uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols); 2) Turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA), especially for financial accounts; 3) Recognize and report phishing (suspicious messages asking for personal info); 4) Keep your software updated to get the latest security patches. Learn more at cisa.gov.

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