BOSTON — A Lowell man is among two Massachusetts residents who pleaded guilty recently to a sweeping bank?fraud operation that stole more than $1.1 million from customers at major banks across New England.
Keith Wainaina, 24, is accused of depositing or attempting to deposit more than $762,000 in stolen funds into bank accounts he controlled as part of the scheme, which court documents state targeted customers at Santander Bank, TD Bank, Bank of America, Citizens Bank and Chase Bank in communities such as Brookline and Braintree, as well as locations in Connecticut and Rhode Island.
One of his co-defendants, Victor Kolawole, 26, of Brockton, deposited about $373,000 in cashier’s checks drawn on victims’ accounts into bank accounts he controlled, according to a U.S. Attorney Leah Foley’s office.
Both Wainaina and Kolawole have pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit…
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PROCUREMENT & EXPENDITURE (STOPPING KICKBACKS)
Procurement fraud usually involves inflated invoices or “fictitious” vendors.
- The Three-Way Match: Never pay an invoice unless you have matched the Purchase Order (PO), the Delivery Note (signed), and the Supplier Invoice.
- Vendor Master File Review: Review your vendor list annually. Look for suppliers with the same bank details or physical addresses as your employees.
- Dual Authorization: Implement a “Two-to-Sign” rule for all EFT payments above a certain threshold (e.g., R5,000).
- No “Cashing” of Checks: If you still use physical checks, strictly prohibit “Cash” as a payee and store blank checks in a dual-lock safe.