Fourteen Charged in Million-Dollar 'Gone in 60 Seconds' Bank Fraud

(Newsroom America) -- Fourteen people have been charged following an FBI-led investigation into the theft of over $1 million from Citibank using cash advance kiosks at casinos located in Southern California and Nevada.

According to an indictment, the defendants stole the money by exploiting a gap—which required multiple withdrawals all within 60 seconds—in Citibank’s electronic transaction security protocols.

FBI agents assisted by the Glendale Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department arrested 13 of the defendants in the Los Angeles area Wednesday and Thursday.

According to court documents, the alleged scheme worked as follows: defendant Ara Keshishyan recruited conspirators who were willing to open multiple Citibank checking accounts.

He then supplied his co-defendants with "seed" money, which was deposited into the recently opened accounts. After the money was deposited into the checking accounts, Keshishyan and his conspirators would travel to nearly a dozen casinos, including the Morongo, Pechanga, San Manuel, Agua Caliente, Chukchansi, and Spa Resort casinos in California; the Tropicana, Wynn, Bicycle, and Whiskey Pete’s casinos in Las Vegas; and Harrah’s in Laughlin.

When inside the casino, the conspirators, including Keshishyan, used cash advance kiosks at casinos in California and Nevada to withdraw (all within 60 seconds) several times the amount of money deposited into the accounts, by exploiting the Citibank security gap they discovered.

The indictment alleges that, after the cash was collected from the casino "cages," Keshishyan would typically give conspirators their “cut”—and keep the remainder of the stolen funds—which were often used to gamble.

The casinos frequently "comped" the conspirators with free rooms due to their extensive gambling activity. As part of the alleged scheme, the defendants were also careful to keep both their deposits and withdrawals under $10,000 in order to avoid federal transaction reporting requirements and conceal their fraud.

All of the defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to illegally structure financial transactions to avoid reporting requirements, which is punishable by up to five years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. In addition, defendant Keshishyan is charged with 14 counts of bank fraud, each of which is punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. The indictment also alleges forfeiture in connection with the crimes charged.