Maryland Fraudster Sentenced to More Than Six Years in Federal Prison for Bank Fraud Scheme

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte sentenced Archie Arnold Paul, a/k/a “Carter Hill” and “Zion Davis,” age 31, of Laurel, Maryland, to 78 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  Judge Messitte also ordered Paul to pay at least $151,091.16 in restitution and to forfeit a 9mm caliber semi-automatic pistol bearing no serial number and more than 250 rounds of 9mm ammunition recovered during the execution of a search warrant at Paul’s residence on May 12, 2020. 

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron and Special Agent in Charge Christina Bentham of the U.S. Secret Service – Baltimore Field Office.  

According to Paul’s plea agreement, he conspired with Jalen Craig McMillan, Jovan Bell, Tiffany Rainel Williams and John Fitzgerald Washingon, and others to defraud Bank A.  Specifically, Paul, the primary leader and organizer of the scheme, and his co-conspirators, obtained and used fictitious identities and the personal identifying information (“PII”) of real persons.  Paul worked with Washington and others to manufacture and procure fraudulent identification documents displaying the PII of the victims, but photographs of others.  Paul, Williams, and others used the fraudulent identification documents to impersonate the victims, open account using fraudulent information and make large withdrawals from Bank A that belonged to the victims.  McMillan and Bell used their positions as “Member Service Representatives” at Bank A to facilitate both the opening of accounts in the names of identity theft victims provided by Paul and his co-conspirators, and subsequent financial transactions, including assisting with loans.  Paul and his co-conspirators, using the information of more than 10 victims, successfully defrauded Bank A of $151,091.16 and tried to obtain more than $405,000.

U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the U.S. Secret Service for its work in the investigation and thanked the City of Laurel Police Department for its assistance.  Mr. Barron also thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Bijon Mostoufi and Ranganath Manthripragada, who are prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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