MARTINEZ — A Ukiah man has pleaded guilty to charges he bilked a Pleasant Hill resident of nearly $20,000 in a money-laundering scheme that involved taking the resident’s identity, authorities said.
Andrew McCormick, 23, pleaded guilty to felony identity theft, money laundering and grand theft of personal property, according to a statement from Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton. Authorities charged McCormick in February.
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According to Becton, McCormick executed his scheme from Florida while targeting the resident’s bank account in Pleasant Hill. He began the scheme by opening a legitimate account in his name at a Chase Bank in Ukiah on July 22, 2022, then scheduled an in-person appointment at a Chase Bank branch in Plantation, Fla., on Aug. 26, 2022, Becton said.
McCormick flew to Florida the day before that appointment and met with a co-conspirator who impersonated the Pleasant Hill victim, using that person’s stolen identifying information, Becton said. She added that the two then went to the scheduled meeting the next day and opened a joint account that was linked to the victim’s account in Pleasant Hill.
According to Becton, McCormick before leaving Florida later that day made phone transfers of $12,300 to his Ukiah account while on the way to draining it.
Becton credited Pleasant Hill police Officer Andrew Mundy for piecing together through search warrants the information during a months-long investigation, and Deputy District Attorney Dana Filkowski’s prosecution.
“When it comes to financial crimes,” Becton said in her statement, “the challenges can be steep.”
McCormick entered his plea on Oct. 3 and could receive up to eight months in jail, according to Becton. He also must repay the victim the amount of money stolen and will be placed on probation for two years, she said.