Hartford police have arrested a Manchester man after an investigation into the theft of retirement funds led to the discovery of cyber hacking, bank wire fraud and money laundering, according to police.
Police said they uncovered sophisticated levels of cyber hacking, bank wire fraud and money laundering while investigating the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars from a retirement account.
The major crimes division financial crimes unit received a complaint in March that a Wells Fargo bank account had been compromised and determined that there had been illegal access to the account in April 2014 and more than $300,000 was stolen, according to police.
Detectives investigated in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, according to police, and determined that several fraudulent bank accounts were opened with false credentials. Stolen funds were deposited in various accounts, withdrawn as cashier checks, and cashed by several suspects, police said.
Officers identified 36-year-old Kwadjo Osei-Wusu, of Manchester, as a central person of interest.
They said fraudulent checks and money orders turned over to him from 2014 until 2017 ranged from $10,000 to $60,000.
Police obtained an arrest warrant charging Osei-Wusu with money laundering in the second degree, larceny in the first degree and conspiracy to commit identity theft in the first degree. Bond was set at $450,000.
Police took Osei-Wusu into custody at an East Hartford barber shop on Friday morning and he was transported to the major crimes division. No attorney was listed for him in online judicial records.
Source: nbcconnecticut.com