Show-Me State Times

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Wednesday sentenced a New York City man to 61 months in prison and ordered him to repay $30,000 to victims of a bank fraud scheme.

The federal prison sentence for George Sciarrone, 54, will follow a prison sentence he is currently serving on an unrelated matter.

Sciarrone pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in February to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, six counts of bank fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft. He admitted that sometime prior to September 28, 2022, organizers of a bank fraud scheme located outside Missouri identified financial accounts of various Missouri residents. They then recruited Sciarrone and others to deposit counterfeit checks into those accounts and withdraw the money. The organizers produced counterfeit driver's licenses and credit cards bearing the names of the account holders and pictures of those they had recruited.

Sciarrone admitted depositing checks in amounts from $3,800 to $4,000 into five banks by using the names of six different people between Sept. 28, 2022, and Oct. 7, 2022.

Valerie Kelly, 46, also from New York City, pleaded guilty in November to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, four counts of bank fraud and three counts of use of a counterfeit access device. She admitted using the identities of six people to deposit fraudulent checks ranging from $3,500 to $4,500 into five banks and attempting to cause losses exceeding $80,000 to more than ten victims.

In March, Judge Autrey sentenced Kelly to 15 months in prison and ordered her to repay $69,100.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Bridgeton Police Department; Creve Coeur Police Department; Florissant Police Department; Richmond Heights Police Department; St. Charles City Police Department; and Wentzville Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry prosecuted it.