SEATTLE — The leader of a national bank fraud scheme pleads guilty in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
Amber Towndrow pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering after ripping off people of $1.4 million.
According to court records, Towndrow and coconspirator, Darby Canfield, got the personal information of 19 people across the country and registered businesses in Washington. Through identity theft, those charged opened business accounts and linked those accounts with the victim’s personal account and would then transfer money into the fraudulent account. Towndrow and Canfield would then use the business account debit card to buy money orders and make high-value purchases.
The plea agreement details how Towndrow defrauded a victim living in Illinois by creating a company registered in Colorado. Towndrow listed the Illinois victim as the registered owner of the company. Towndrow traveled to a Chase branch in Seattle where she opened a business banking account for the fake company. Towndrow and her coconspirators used online banking to transfer $131,709 from the Illinois victim account to the business account. Towndrow used the business debit card to purchase 128 U.S. Postal Service money orders totaling $126,653. The money orders were made payable to various people the co-schemers could impersonate with their fake IDs. The conspirators then cashed several of the money orders at various locations in the Seattle area.
— U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Washington
The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Washington said the scheme affected people in Washington, Colorado, Pennsylvania, California, New Jersey, Indiana,and Washington D.C.
In the plea agreement, Towndrow said she opened at least 50 business bank accounts and tried to get $1.4 million but only got $664,000.
Without the guilty plea, Towndrow would have faced up to 30 years for bank fraud, 20 years for money laundering and two years for identity theft.
Prosecutors agreed to recommend no more than eight years in prison if Towndrow agreed to plead guilty.
Towndrow is scheduled to be sentenced on June 12, 2025.
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