A California man has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for aggravated identity theft after exploiting insider information to steal over $126,000 from unsuspecting U.S. Bank customers. John Gidimin Klimas, 52, of Fremont, California, received the sentence, along with two years of supervised release, for his role in a scheme that targeted customer accounts at U.S. Bank branches.
Court documents revealed that between October 2005 and February 2006, Klimas and an accomplice, Karlene Rose Bauer, obtained confidential customer data, including names, driver’s license numbers, bank account numbers, and balances. Investigators believe this sensitive information was provided by an insider within U.S. Bank. This breach allowed Klimas and Bauer to specifically target accounts with substantial balances.
Alt text: Exterior view of a U.S. Bank branch showcasing its signage and architectural design, representing a location where account takeover crimes can unfortunately occur.
With the illegally obtained customer data, Klimas and Bauer manufactured fraudulent driver’s licenses bearing their photographs but using the genuine driver’s license numbers of the bank customers. Equipped with these fake IDs, they systematically conducted teller withdrawals at various U.S. Bank branches across California and Washington. In some instances, they further complicated their scheme by acquiring cashier’s checks made out to third parties, which they subsequently cashed using additional fraudulent identification. One victim account was drained of over $92,000 as a result of this elaborate scheme executed at U.S. Bank branches.
Klimas’s criminal activity was brought to an end on March 20, 2006, when a security thumbprint obtained during a cashier’s check cashing attempt at a U.S. Bank branch in Seattle matched his prints on file in California. He subsequently pleaded guilty on June 19, 2006.
Assistant United States Attorney Lawrence Lincoln emphasized the severe impact of such identity theft crimes, stating that account takeovers inflict significant damage on victims’ financial histories and emotional well-being, requiring extensive time to rectify. The prosecution of Klimas was made possible under the Aggravated Identity Theft statute, which mandates an additional 24-month sentence for each count, on top of the sentence for the underlying crime. Klimas received 24 months for each of the two counts of Aggravated Identity Theft.
Alt text: Logos of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Seattle Police Department (Seattle PD) symbolizing the collaborative law enforcement effort in investigating and prosecuting financial crimes like bank branch identity theft.
The case was a joint effort between the FBI and the Seattle Police Department, highlighting the collaborative approach to combating financial crimes that impact banking institutions and their customers. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Lawrence Lincoln. The sentencing serves as a stark reminder of the severe consequences of identity theft and the importance of robust security measures within financial institutions, including U.S. Bank branches, to protect customer accounts from both external and internal threats.
