Numerous federal charges have been brought against the owner of a trucking firm in Santee for allegedly masterminding a multi-million dollar credit card fraud scheme that included identity theft, fraudulent payments, and international money laundering.
The 44-year-old owner and operator of San Diego Logistics Group, Hasan Korkmaz, was charged on 18 counts by federal authorities on Tuesday, including aggravated identity theft, money laundering, and bank fraud.
Korkmaz is suspected of applying for and opening many credit card accounts using the identities, birth dates, and Social Security numbers of different people, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Two financial institutions reportedly lost more than $2 million as a result of the fraudulent scheme.
Prosecutors claim that significant charges, including one transaction of up to $18,500, were made using the unlawfully obtained credit cards.
Korkmaz is accused of using the cards to make fraudulent payments in order to keep the accounts open and evade investigation.
According to investigators, these payments were taken out of accounts that were either nonexistent or had insufficient funds. He was able to temporarily raise the credit limits and carry on accruing charges by doing this.
Officials also said that the fraudulent funds were not held within U.S. borders.
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The investigation into the monies is made more difficult by Korkmaz’s alleged laundering of a sizable amount of the money by moving it to a Turkish bank account under his control.
On Tuesday, Korkmaz appeared in court for the first time and was charged with the federal offenses included in the indictment. He can be subject to severe jail time and monetary fines if found guilty.
Officials urge anyone who thinks their identity may have been compromised in connection with the case to get in touch with federal investigators since the investigation is still ongoing.
