3 defendants plead guilty in national bank fraud conspiracy
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)-- According to the United States Department of Justice, three defendants in a national bank fraud conspiracy have pleaded guilty to their roles. Davon Hunter, 27, and Christian Quivers, 20, both of Richmond, Virginia and Crystal Kurschner, 44, of Brooklyn, have all admitted to conspiring to committing bank fraud.
Officials said the defendants conspired to steal the identities of people, all over the country, and impersonated them to obtain cash, checks, loans and credit from banks and credit unions. The three defendants as well as 11 others allegedly opened bank accounts, leading to allegedly nearly $3 million in intended losses and more than $1.5 million in actual losses.
In March 2024, Oluwaseun Adekoya, age 39, of New Jersey, and David Daniyan, age 60, of Brooklyn, New York, were previously charged in an indictment returned last December, along with codefendants Victor Barriera, age 64, of the Bronx, New York; Gaysha Kennedy, age 46, of Brooklyn; Jerjuan Joyner, age 50, of Brooklyn; Akeem Balogun, age 56, of Brooklyn; Danielle Cappetti, age 46, of the Bronx; and Lesley Lucchese, age 53, of Brooklyn, with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft.
The charges stem from an ongoing investigation that began in 2022 after the arrest of Daniyan, Kennedy and Barriera by the Cohoes Police Department. The defendants reportedly obtained over $900,000 to purchase Rolex watches, Mercedes-Benz vehicles, and high-end clothing and apparel.
Previous defendants Balogun, Barriera, Cappetti, Joyner, and Lucchese each previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and will be sentenced by United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino.
As part of their pleas, the Hunter, Quivers and Kurschner admitted they were members of the group to defraud banks all over the country using personal information of victims and using lower-level workers to impersonate the victims. Quivers admitted that he was the supervisor in the conspiracy and relayed messages from Hunter, who admitted he was a manager. Kurschner admitted she was a worker who impersonated victims and provided most of the fraud proceeds to her supervisors.
Hunter and Quivers each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Kurschner pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
Three other defendants, Oluwaseun Adeyoka, 38; Kani Bassie, age 36; and Jermon Brooks, age 20, have pleaded not guilty in the conspiracy.
The bank fraud conspiracy charges have a maximum term of 30 years in prison. Both Hunter and Quivers also face a mandatory consecutive term of two years for their aggravated identity theft charges. All three will have to pay restitution and face up to five years of probation.
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