ST. LOUIS—Mario Darnell Smith pled
guilty to charges involving his use of customer information to steal money from
bank accounts at U.S. Bank.
According to the facts filed with the
court, Jeffrey G. White was employed by U.S. Bank at a branch in St. Louis
County. As part of his employment, White had access to customer account
information, including account numbers for business accounts and names of
persons associated with business accounts. Mario Darnell Smith was a friend and
acquaintance of White. In the spring of 2011, Smith and White agreed that White
would provide Smith with customer account information for customers of U.S.
Bank, including business/commercial customers such as Ameren. White printed
customer account information and provided that information to Smith. Typically,
the corner of the printouts was torn off so that it would not indicate who
accessed and printed the account information. After getting the customer
account information, Smith registered phony Internet domain names to make it
look as though he was sending e-mail from Ameren. Smith then used this
information and attempted to obtain cash delivery services from an Ameren
account at U.S. Bank.
On June 20, 2011, Smith contacted U.S.
Bank and requested approximately $180,000 in cash pursuant to U.S. Bank cash
vault services. Smith was arrested on June 20, 2011, and the bank fraud scheme
was never completed.
Mario Darnell Smith pled guilty to one
felony count of bank fraud, three felony counts of aggravated identity theft,
and one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud before United States District
Judge Rodney W. Sippel. Sentencing has been set for July 26, 2012.
Co-defendant Jeffrey White pled guilty
in December to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and awaits sentencing.
Bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of
30 years in prison and/or fines up to $1 million. Each count of aggravated
identity theft carries a maximum of two years in prison and/or fines up to
$250,000 and the conspiracy count carries a maximum of five years in prison
and/or a fine of up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentences, a judge
is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide
recommended sentencing ranges.
This case was investigated by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Regional Computer Crimes Education and
Enforcement Group (RCCEEG), including detectives from the Chesterfield and
Webster Groves Police Departments. Assistant United States Attorney John
Bodenhausen and Stephen Casey are handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s
Office.
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