BUFFALO, NY – 53-year-old former Buffalo bank employee has pleaded guilty to grand larceny, identity theft, and a scheme to defraud after operating a credit card scam using debit card numbers from bank customers.
53-year-old Gerald Battle of Buffalo a former bank employee, admitted that he engaged in an ongoing course of conduct to intentionally defraud the financial institution and the victims. The defendant knowingly assumed the identities of multiple individuals by using their debit card information to make numerous unauthorized transactions at various restaurants, grocery stores and online retailers over the course of more than three years.
“An investigation began after a restaurant employee notified the Erie County Sheriff’s Office that the business was charged by the bank after a debit card was used in an authorized transaction for a food delivery order,” the Erie County District Attorney’s Office said. “Investigators determined that the defendant fraudulently obtained personal banking information belonging to numerous victims and used their debit card information to purchase food and other goods for himself between July 1, 2018 and November 1, 2021. All of the items were delivered to the defendant’s residence at an apartment building on Delaware Avenue in the City of Buffalo.”
The victims who reported the unauthorized debit card transactions were reimbursed by the bank. Numerous businesses are believed to have been impacted by this defendant’s criminal actions as the vendor assumes liability for a fraudulent digital purchase. As a result, many of these businesses suffered a loss after being charged back by the bank for a payment that was the result of an unauthorized transaction.
A statement from the D.A. says at the time of the plea, the defendant signed a Confession of Judgment to pay $50,000.00 in restitution to the bank. Battle faces a maximum of 7 years in prison when he is sentenced on Thursday, July 28, 2022 at 9:30 a.m. He was released on his own recognizance as the charges are non-qualifying offenses for bail.