A Bay Area rapper was sentenced to over seven years in federal prison for his role in a complex loan fraud and identity theft conspiracy, the Department of Justice announced on Tuesday.
Mark “Kafani” Hicks, aka Amir Rashad, 42, out of Oakley, was at the center of a ring that stole approximately $2 million from banks and lending institutions, the DOJ said.
Within months of being released from prison in 2017, Hicks obtained the personal identity of nine people, along with their credit history, and used the information to create fraudulent bank accounts, emails, and phone numbers in the victims’ names. Hicks then applied for mortgage refinance loans in the victim’s names as well.
Hicks applied for eight loans; in some cases they were not approved, the DOJ said, but in other cases, Hicks convinced lending institutions to forward funds to fraudulent accounts.
Prosecutors called the two-year scheme “sprawling,” saying it involved impersonating the victims in phone calls.
With the money he collected, he bought gold bars and coins that his co-conspirators sold for cash. A safe deposit box controlled by Hicks’ relatives yielded over $480,000.
Five other co-conspirators were sentenced for the scheme, the DOJ said, with sentences ranging from 15 to 48 months. As ringleader, Hicks received the most time, 87 months in prison. Each defendant was also ordered to pay $1.9 million in restitution.
A seventh alleged co-conspirator remains a fugitive, according to the DOJ.
10 comments
With a sentence like that it looks like crime pays.
Watch Gavin get him an early release.
Newsom is not the President yet.
If he gets in he will, and he’s trying.
Gavin ain’t turning this dude loose. It’s a federal conviction. There should , however, be an enhancement for being a rapper.
Maybe he’ll get monkey pox, or… the seven year ich!
At least he learned a trade when he was in prison the first time. Can’t wait to see what he learns during the next four years as he will never serve full sentence in California.
Such crap, they should all be force to wear voicebox that automatically sets off alarms so they can’t steal another identify.
How’s it working out for all you soulless supporters of the democrat politicians, who think that criminals should be running wild and wreaking havoc in our communities, instead of being in prison?
His career went fast, like a nascar.
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