U.S. Department of Justice: Brother-in-law stole $794,000 from elderly victims by transferring phone numbers to bypass mobile two-factor identification.

According to Gate News bot and The Daily Hodl, two California men are facing up to 30 years in prison for allegedly implementing a scheme to fraudulently access elderly victims' bank accounts and steal their funds.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California, an indictment containing 17 charges, released on Tuesday, accuses brothers Ayman Alaaraj and Ahmad Nassar of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Court documents show that in May 2023, Nassar used complex techniques (such as transferring one victim's phone number) to take over several bank accounts of two elderly victims from two different banks.

This method allowed Nasar to access these accounts and bypass the bank's two-factor authentication protection. With occasional assistance from Alaraji, Nasar stole account funds and accumulated unpaid credit card debts, causing victims a loss of over $794,000.

Subsequently, the two men transferred the stolen money to a transfer account opened in the victim's name and transferred $100,000 through Alaaraj's business.

The defendant ultimately transferred money to themselves through ATM withdrawals, personal checks, Western Union remittances, and Zelle transfers. They also used the stolen funds to pay credit cards, participate in online gambling, and purchase a Mercedes-Benz.

Once convicted, the two individuals will face up to 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million for each count of bank fraud. Additionally, they will also face two years of mandatory imprisonment for the aggravated identity theft charge, along with a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the total profit or total loss.