26-year-old Meshach Samuels from Placentia pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud and being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.

Samuels promoted his scheme on Instagram from May 2021 to March 2022, urging followers to pay him up to thousands of dollars to learn how to steal money from banks by committing check fraud.

Using stolen personal information from an accomplice bank teller and other sources, Samuels and his accomplices created fraudulent checks. These checks would then be deposited into third-party accounts and withdrawn in smaller amounts to avoid alerting the bank.

According to court documents, Samuels attempted to obtain approximately $1.2 million and caused losses of at least $400,000.

Samuels also admitted to submitting fraudulent applications for unemployment insurance to the California Employment Development Department during the pandemic.

Samuels was previously convicted in Florida for aggravated battery and attempted murder of a law enforcement official and for unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 23, where Samuels will face up to 30 years in federal prison for bank fraud conspiracy and 20 years for two counts of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.

By Connor Ku