A former TD Bank employee pleaded guilty to using his insider access to steal personal client information and bribe an employee at another financial institution to falsify bank records, resulting in over $3.4 million in fraud losses, the Justice Department said.
Cheungkin Lam, 28, of Queens, New York, also known as Kelvin Lam, admitted taking bribes and using his position at TD Bank to discover accounts with significant balances and steal customer information, which he then shared with outside co-conspirators who used it to drain consumer accounts. The scheme ran from January to May 2021.
In a separate plan from May to August 2022, Lam bribed an employee at another financial institution to falsify bank records in order to open an account for his co-conspirators to assist further fraud. Lam accepted at least $155,000 in bribes and was liable for $3,433,989 in fraud damages.
Lam pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud against a financial institution and creating fake bank entries and reports. He is set to be sentenced on October 15 and faces a maximum of 30 years in federal prison. The final sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge after taking into account the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory criteria.
Officials from the Justice Department said the case highlighted the crucial role bank workers play as the first line of defense against financial crime, and warned that anyone who misuse positions of trust for personal gain will face federal charges. The matter was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General, with help from the Morristown Police Department.
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