Athuman Farid Omar, an illegal alien, has been sentenced to 40 months in federal prison for conspiring to defraud a Dallas-based credit union, a scheme that resulted in more than $2.3 million in actual losses.
Omar, 49, also received two years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $2,332,491.91 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas published October 1.
Omar pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud in April. U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade imposed the sentence September 23.
Scheme Exploited Relationship With Credit Union CEO
According to court documents and statements presented during the sentencing hearing, Omar used a longstanding relationship with former credit union CEO and co-conspirator Jonathan Salcedo to carry out the fraud.
Omar opened several business accounts at the credit union and deposited checks issued from an account at another bank despite knowing the accounts did not contain enough money to cover the checks.
The scheme continued for about 18 months before coming to an end in December 2022.
During a two-day period that month, Omar attempted to deposit 56 checks totaling $1,160,780 into a credit union account. The checks were drawn on his account at another bank, where he knew there were insufficient funds to cover them.
Federal Officials Seek Accountability
U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said the sentence and restitution order reflect the seriousness of the scheme and its impact on the financial institution.
“This sentence and restitution order reflects the seriousness of Mr. Omar’s long-running scheme to exploit a trusted relationship and siphon millions of dollars from a financial institution that serves our community,” Raybould said.
Raybould said federal prosecutors will continue pursuing individuals who manipulate banking systems for financial gain.
The FBI Dallas investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Koos prosecuted Omar.
Co-conspirator Awaits Sentencing
Salcedo has also pleaded guilty in connection with the scheme and is scheduled to be sentenced later this year.
Omar is a Tanzanian citizen who has lived in the Dallas area for decades without legal status in the United States. After completing his federal prison sentence, he will be transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.
