Boston, MA – Jean Andre Bontiffe, a 40-year-old New York resident, has entered into an agreement to plead guilty to charges stemming from his use of counterfeit United States passport cards to withdraw money from the bank accounts of three Massachusetts residents. While a date for the plea hearing has yet to be set, the charges against Bontiffe include three counts of bank fraud, one count of forgery or false use of a passport, and one count of aggravated identity theft. The charges were initially brought against him in October 2023 following a criminal complaint.
The allegations against Bontiffe detail a series of fraudulent activities conducted in July 2022. He was apprehended on August 9, 2022, in New York while attempting to pass through TSA screening at LaGuardia Airport with a counterfeit California driver’s license bearing the name of one of the victims.
Investigations further revealed that between July 20 and July 22, 2022, Bontiffe made nine attempts to withdraw a total of $13,800 from the bank accounts of Massachusetts residents. His fraudulent endeavors included an incident on July 20, 2022, at a TD Bank branch in North Andover, Massachusetts, where he presented a counterfeit United States passport and a Discover credit card in a victim’s name in an unsuccessful attempt to withdraw $4,500.
The legal repercussions for Bontiffe’s actions are severe. The forgery or false use of a passport charge carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The bank fraud charge may result in up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a similar fine.
Additionally, aggravated identity theft is punishable by a mandatory two-year prison sentence, to be served consecutively with any other imposed sentence. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge, guided by the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and relevant statutes.