Pennsylvania Man Involved in Multistate Bank Fraud and Identity Theft Scheme Pleads Guilty

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Peter Quinn, Resident Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service, announced that ANTHONY C. INNARELLA, SR., 63, formerly of Kunkletown, Pennsylvania, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden to bank fraud and identity theft offenses.

Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the court proceeding occurred via videoconference.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Innarella and another individual possessed multiple fake driver’s licenses and credit cards in the names of other people and used these fraudulent forms of identification to register phony businesses with municipal offices and county clerks to obtain trade name certificates.  They also obtained Employer Identification Numbers (“EINs”) from the Internal Revenue Service in the names of the phony businesses.  Between approximately October 2016 and May 2017, Innarella and the other individual, posing as business owners, traveled to banks in Connecticut, Delaware, Virginia, New Jersey, Massachusetts and elsewhere and used the fraudulent identifications, trade name certificates and EINs to open new business bank accounts.  Numerous fraudulent accounts were linked to legitimate accounts of the people whose identities Innarella and the other individual had used.

Through this scheme, more than $1 million was transferred into the fraudulent business bank accounts, and Innarella and the other individual withdrew cash and cashier’s checks totaling approximately $363,000 from the accounts.

On April 5, 2017, Innarella was arrested by the Fairfield Police Department in connection with a fraudulent bank account he had opened at a Wells Fargo Bank branch in Fairfield.  At the time of his arrest, he and his co-conspirator possessed numerous counterfeit driver’s licenses and credit cards in other individuals’ names, several cellphones bearing sticker labels with the names of different individuals, more than $34,000 in cash, and other items connecting him to a bank fraud and identity theft scheme.  State charges against Innarella are pending.

Innarella has been detained in federal custody since June 13, 2019.  Prior to that date, he was in state custody in Connecticut and New Jersey.

Innarella pleaded guilty to one count conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years, and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory consecutive term of imprisonment of two years.  A sentencing date is not scheduled.

This matter is being investigated by the Connecticut Financial Crimes Task Force, U.S. Secret Service, Greenwich Police Department, Fairfield Police Department, Delaware State Police and Virginia State Police.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anastasia E. King in coordination with State’s Attorney for the Fairfield (Conn.) Judicial District, Delaware Attorney General’s Office, Prince William County (Va.) Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, and the Cape May County (N.J.) Prosecutor’s Office.