Brooklyn man sentenced to up to 14 years for stealing nearly $35,000 from personal CitiBank accounts
Used Fraudulent New Jersey Driver’s License on 12 Occasions To Withdraw Funds from Victim’s Bank Accounts
Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson on Monday announced that a 31-year-old Brooklyn man was sentenced to a term of seven to 14 years in prison for stealing nearly $35,000 from CitiBank checking and savings accounts by using a forged driver’s license bearing the victim’s name. The defendant made the illegal withdrawals inside Brooklyn bank branches on 11 occasions in June 2013 and was caught when he attempted to obtain cash from the accounts a 12th time.
“This defendant brazenly raided a stranger’s bank account after stealing his identity,” said Thompson. “He was caught, prosecuted and is now going straight to prison where he belongs.”
The DA identified the defendant as Barrington Folkes, 31, of 2311 Cortelyou Road in Flatbush. He was sentenced Monday by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Ruth Shillingford to an indeterminate term of seven to 14 years in prison following his conviction on Feb. 8 on multiple counts of third-degree grand larceny, second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and first-degree identity theft after a jury trial. The defendant was convicted of 32 counts in total.
Thompson said that according to trial testimony, Folks, on 11 occasions, withdrew sums ranging from $2,000 to nearly $4,700 from one checking account and one savings account belonging to the victim. In most instances, Folkes presented a New Jersey driver’s license bearing the victim’s name and the Folkes’ picture, and used the victim’s Social Security number to gain access to the accounts. Folkes signed transaction slips in the victim’s name to complete the withdrawals.
On June 17, 2013, Folkes made a withdrawal from a CitiBank branch at 885 Flatbush Ave. About an hour later, he made two withdrawals (one from each account) from a CitiBank branch at 702 Utica Ave. On the afternoons of June 20 and June 21, he made two withdrawals each day from the 855 Flatbush Ave. location. On the morning of June 24, he returned to that same branch and again made two withdrawals. Later that afternoon, he made two withdrawals from a branch at 1992 Ralph Ave.
The investigation found that on June 25, 2013, the accounts holder checked his balance and found that a large sum was missing. He contacted CitiBank and was told to report that to his branch. The next morning, he went to his local branch and filled out the necessary paperwork.
Later that day, on June 26, 2013, at approximately 11:25 a.m., Folkes returned to the Flatbush Avenue location and presented the forged driver’s license again. The teller showed the license to the manager on duty and 911 was called. When the police arrived, the defendant fled the location on foot. Lt. Sean Collins chased and apprehended the defendant one block away.
The DA thanked CitiBank for their assistance with the investigation.
The case was prosecuted by ADA Sasha Pemberton and ADA Joshua Lee of the District Attorney’s Trial Bureau IV, Green Zone, under the supervision of David Klestzick, bureau chief.
—Information from the Brooklyn DA’s Office
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