California Man Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Role in $1.3 Million Bank Fraud Scheme

 CAMDEN, N.J. – A California man was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for his role in a bank fraud scheme resulting in approximately $1.3 million in losses, Acting U.S.Attorney Rachael Honig announced.

Adam D. Arena, 44, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman in Camden federal court to an indictment charging him with bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Judge Hillman imposed the sentence by videoconference today.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Between 2016 and 2018, Arena conspired with Larry McGee and Dwayne Modeliste to execute a scheme to defraud Synchrony Bank. Arena obtained the personally identifiable information of others, most of whom were incarcerated individuals. Arena and his conspirators then used those individuals’ personal information to obtain credit cards from Synchrony Bank. Arena and his conspirators submitted to Synchrony Bank merchant applications so those enrolled merchants could accept Synchrony credit cards as a form of payment. After Arena and his conspirators enrolled the merchants with Synchrony Bank, they used the fraudulently obtained credit cards to conduct fraudulent transactions at the merchants. The fraudulent proceeds of those transactions were deposited into bank accounts controlled by Arena and his conspirators. 

In addition to the prison term, Judge Hillman sentenced Arena to three years of supervised release. He also ordered Arena to make restitution to Synchrony Bank in the amount of $1.3 million and ordered forfeiture in the amount of $608,282. 

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr., with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine R. Murphy of the

U.S. Attorney’s Office’s National Security Unit in Newark.