BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — Two personal bankers at a Bed-Stuy branch of JP Morgan Chase and their accomplices were indicted for stealing nearly $400,000 from customers’ accounts, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office announced Monday.
Jonathan Francis, 27, and Dion Allison, 30, worked out of the bank's branch at 1380 Fulton St. and used their positions to access the accounts of 15 elderly customers, according to prosecutors.
Between August 2012 and October 2013, the pair searched the bank’s databases for accounts that belonged to older clients and those that had high balances and were dormant except for regular direct deposits from the Social Security Administration, officials said.
Some of the account holders they identified were deceased.
The personal bankers allegedly schemed with two others who were not bank employees — Kery Phillips, 40, and Gregory Desrameaux, 24 — to steal money from the accounts, prosecutors said.
Francis and Allison issued ATM cards for the accounts and the group withdrew cash from several Chase locations.
In April 2013, they allegedly made 42 withdrawals totaling $39,800 from four different victim accounts at four different Brooklyn Chase ATMs, according to court documents.
The group made 355 withdrawals totaling nearly $298,000 from the 15 accounts, officials said. But they didn’t stop there.
Phillips, Desrameaux and others also conspired to steal money by submitting false and fraudulent power of attorney documents, according to prosecutors.
They submitted the papers to gain control over four accounts and withdrew nearly $100,000 as a result, officials said.
“As alleged, these individuals preyed upon the elderly and deceased. Not only did they raid their victims’ savings, they also failed to conceal their deceitful tracks,” Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said in a statement.
All four defendants are charged with fourth-degree conspiracy, second-and-third-degree grand larceny and first-degree falsifying business records, according to the Brooklyn DA's office.
Allison was arrested and arraigned Monday and ordered held on bail of $25,000 bond or $15,000 cash.
Francis and Desrameaux were arraigned earlier in December, with Francis pleading not guilty and ordered to be held on bail at $25,000 bond or $15,000 cash.
Desrameaux also pleaded not guilty and was released without bail. Phillips is still being sought by police, officials said.
Information on the trio’s lawyers was not immediately available.
"We have been working closely with the authorities and the Social Security Administration since notifying them about this incident," a JP Morgan Chase spokeswoman said in a statement.
"We will continue to do so to ensure that the funds are reimbursed to our customers or their estates or returned to the government as appropriate."
