New York man pleads guilty to bank fraud conspiracy in Rhode Island, other states

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A New York man has admitted to participating in a conspiracy where he obtained victims’ personal information which was then used to create fake IDs and checks later cashed at banks in Rhode Island and other states.

Paul Keenan, 54, of Bronx, NY, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, according to the office of Acting United States Attorney for Rhode Island Sara Miron Bloom.

Keenan appeared before a Rhode Island federal judge.

Keenan and others recruited and organized individuals to obtain their photographs and personal identifying information, and then used this information to create fraudulent IDs.

At least 28 victims were affected by this conspiracy, with their names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and banking information being obtained by Kennan and others.

Keenan and his co-conspirators attempted to obtain $143,000 through this fraud, successfully defrauding 22 banks of $93,200.