Upper Gwynedd Police Photo by James Short.
Upper Gwynedd Township Police allege a Virigina man was successfully able to obtain and withdraw more than $20,000 in loans from two financial institutions using the identity of a township resident last September.
Jahmaine Faqiri, 34, of the 100 block of Fiddlers Ct, Stafford, Va., police said, is charged with one felony count each of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity with the intent to promote the carrying on of said activity, and forgery, four felony counts of receiving stolen property, five felony counts of access device fraud, two felony charges of identity theft, and two felony charges of theft by deception, according to court records.
Faqiri, police allege, used the victim’s name, date of birth, address, Social Security number, and a fictitious Pennsylvania driver’s license to open bank accounts, apply for loans and withdraw the funds.
According to Montgomery County court documents, Faqiri is free on $25,000 unsecured bail, posted May 29.
On Sept. 19, 2023, Upper Gwynedd Police received a report from a man on the 1600 block of Clearbrook Road about two loans fraudulently opened by someone who used hi name, police said. The victim became aware of the fraud when debt collectors called him when the loans were not repaid, police said.
Both loans were opened in June 2023: One for $15,000 through Member One Federal Credit Union, and a second for $8,000 through Mariner Finance, according to the affidavit.
The victim’s Experian credit report showed him two addresses and accounts of which he was unfamiliar: An address on the 13000 block of Old Stagecoach Road in Laurel, Md., connected to a Mariner Finance account, and a second address on the 1000 block of Cottontown Road, Forest, Va. Connected to a Member One account, per the complaint.
Member One customer service, police said, confirmed that a loan was opened in the victim’s name and they were aware it was fraudulent. The bank was conducting its own fraud investigation, police said, on the loan that was opened and applied for and granted online.
Furthermore, police learned the bank had images of the suspect, identified as Faqiri, appearing at a branch and withdrawing funds using fake credentials, per the affidavit.
Police obtained search warrants for each bank, requesting images, video, signature sheets, loan application documents, ID copies, and other documents, police said. Police said the Member One loan was completed by Faqiri posing as the victim and using the victim’s biographical information and a fraudulent Pennsylvania driver’s license.
Police said the $15,000 loan was applied for on June 1, 2023, and the funds were dispersed the next day into the fraudulent checking account. Bank records, police allege, show a $9,000 withdrawl on June 3, 2023 and then $6,000 withdrawn on June 5, 2023.
Police said the man in the bank surveillance images from a Member One branch in Lynchburg, Va. was a Black male with a black beard and mustache, wearing a black long-sleeved hoodie, black pants, black bucket hat, and glasses.
Mariner Finance, police said, provided a picture of a person, who is not the victim, holding a Pennsylvania driver’s license in the victim’ s name, along with his address and date of birth, which was used to apply for the loan via telephone.
Police said the picture on the ID matched the suspect in the surveillance picture, which was similar to the man at Member One bank, this time with woven or braided hair and a distinctive scar between his eyebrows that resembled “a single quotation mark.”
Mariner Finance, police allege, also provided a paystub in the victim’s name used by the suspect to apply for the loan. Furthermore, police said, Mariner Finance provided an “EZ-Pay” document that showed Member One was tied to Mariner Finance by the suspect as an account that would be used to pay off the Mariner loan in installments.
The Mariner loan was applied for and approved on June 15, 2023, per the affidavit, and five days later, a person on video, later identified as Faqiri, who matches the person who applied for the loan, is seen entering and exiting an office after a check was obtained.
Police allege Faqiri cashed the $8,000 Mariner Finance check at a Bank of America in Laurel, Md., using a counterfeit Pennsylvania driver’s license.
Video surveillance at Bank of America, police allege, matches video of Faqiri at the other bank branches.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled before Magisterial District Judge Suzan Leonard on June 27 at 1 p.m.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
