Key Figure Jailed In Nationwide HELOC Scam

A New Jersey man responsible for digging up Social Security numbers and other personal data that was used to siphon millions of dollars from phony HELOC accounts at dozens of banks and credit unions has been sentenced to almost 11 years in prison. Yomi Jagunna, 44, pleaded guilty to selling Social Security numbers for $30 apiece to a group that may have siphoned as much as $5 million from financial institutions. Jagunna, who set up a sham collection agency to gain access to the Social Security numbers, was also ordered to pay $3.2 million in restitution. A Nigerian immigrant, he is one of 17 individuals charged in the nationwide HELOC scheme that fooled credit union and bank employees into transferring funds to accounts in at least seven countries, authorities said. Part of the scam involved using sophisticated dodges to circumvent the institutions' attempts to verify the wire transfers with telephone calls. In some cases, they convinced phone company employees to reroute their victims' calls. When the credit union or bank called the victim's home number, one of the suspects' cell phones rang, authorities said. Among the depositories harmed were Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wachovia (now part of Wells Fargo), Navy Federal Credit Union in Virginia, and others.