Acquah and Hathaway sourced victims’ PII via Telegram and other sources and recruited low-level coconspirators from across the country who were willing to conduct the fraudulent transactions. While Hathaway focused on recruitment, Acquah compiled the necessary fake IDs and forged documents or procured them through a network of suppliers.

Both of the men shouldered the logistical challenges of running a multi-state fraud ring: Arranging airfare for coconspirators, booking hotel rooms, facilitating vehicles and drivers, training new recruits and distributing the stolen funds.

At one point, Acquah and Hathaway managed at least three teams — consisting of an actor, driver and handler — who carried out the fraudulent transactions up and down the Wasatch Front, a heavily populated metropolitan region that stretches across northern Utah, named after the Wasatch Mountain Range.

The actor was the person who walked into credit union branches and presented fake identification to impersonate a real person whose PII had been stolen. The driver transported the actor from branch to branch and the handler was their supervisor.

Acquah referred to himself as “Scamdaddy” or “Playboy Prince,” and took a leading role directing the fraud spree. He repeatedly admonished coconspirators to use encrypted messaging applications and once advised a coconspirator to hide his “stash” in case, “God forbid[,] . . . feds come.”

Even after several “actors” were arrested, Acquah and Hathaway turned to another codefendant, Jordan Battle, for new recruits. Seemingly undeterred by the increasing risk of detection and arrest, they helped plan and facilitate more than a dozen additional fraud attempts — defrauding credit union branches from Tooele to Holladay, according to court documents.

Federal investigators estimated the fraud ring stole at least $452,234 from the credit unions during a five-month spree.

Acquah used his share of the fraud proceeds to finance a lavish lifestyle, including a downtown Los Angeles apartment and a Tesla. He also saved $100,804, which he split between his apartment and an offsite storage unit where he stashed the stolen credit union funds and equipment to make phony IDs and other documents.

By mid-2024, efforts to dismantle the fraud ring were well underway. Acquah and four codefendants were arrested.

Hathaway is scheduled to be sentenced next week, and has pleaded guilty to bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

After pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud, Battle is scheduled for sentencing at the end of the month. A third codefendant, Emas Hama, is expected to be sentenced in June after pleading guilty to bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

A fourth codefendant, Jamari Chapman, was sentenced to 12 months and a day in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud. He also was ordered to pay $42,990 in restitution.

Other persons who participated in this fraud scheme were referred to state and local authorities for prosecution, according to court documents.

Peter Strozniak can be reached at [email protected].