Fraudster Sentenced to 82 Months in Federal Prison for Identity and Bank Fraud Scheme

News Release from U.S. Attorney's Office, Districts of Guam & the Northern Mariana Islands, Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Hagatña, Guam – SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendant Evan Daniel Montvel-Cohen, age 55 from Tamuning, Guam, was sentenced to 82 months imprisonment by the District Court of Guam.  Montvel-Cohen was charged with Use of a Means of Identification in Furtherance of Fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028(a)(7), and Bank Fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344. The Court also ordered 5 years of supervised release, a mandatory $200 special assessment fee and restitution in the amount of $74,826.67.

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From November 2019 until January 2020, Montvel-Cohen engaged in a scheme to defraud a property management company in Guam by using the name and personal identification of another person in order to enter into a residential lease agreement. Montvel-Cohen used an altered image of his Guam driver’s license, with another person’s name and date of birth, and digitally signed a lease agreement using an e-mail address created in the victim’s name. He then possessed and occupied a residential unit belonging to the property management company, bounced rent and deposit checks, and never paid any of the rental or deposit fees owed. This resulted in a loss of nearly $20,000.00.

From about July 31, 2018, until about August 18, 2018, Montvel-Cohen also engaged in a scheme to defraud the Bank of Guam, a federally insured financial institution. Montvel-Cohen deposited a $45,010.00 check from a jointly owned Bank of Hawaii account into a jointly owned Bank of Guam account. On August 1, 2018, he caused a stop payment order to be placed on the Bank of Hawaii check. On August 3, 2018, Montvel-Cohen and others caused funds to be transferred from the Bank of Guam account in the amount of $39,356.05. Because of the stop payment order, the Bank of Hawaii check was returned, resulting in a loss to Bank of Guam in the amount of $39,356.05.

At sentencing, the Court found by clear and convincing evidence that the Defendant engaged in long series of similar frauds and schemes over a multi-year period resulting in actual and intended losses of over $1.5 million dollars. 

“Montvel-Cohen has a lengthy history of fraud, which has left a trail of victims throughout the United States,” stated U.S. Attorney Anderson. “Hopefully the sentence imposed by the Court will deter him from reoffending.  I applaud the diligent efforts of the FBI in bringing this defendant to justice.”

"Fraud and identity theft are devastating to those who fall victim to these crimes," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Steven Merrill. "Many don't even know they are affected until it is too late. The FBI will spare no effort or resource when investigating those responsible."

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Benjamin K. Petersburg, Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Guam.

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