Federal grand jury indicts Pittsford father and son on multiple fraud and ID theft charges in credit card scam

ROCHESTER, NY—U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that a federal grand jury has returned a 19-count indictment charging Talib Hussain, 75, and Mirza Khan, 48, both of Pittsford, NY, with conspiracy to commit bank, wire fraud, and access device fraud, access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. According to the indictment, between approximately 2012 and July 23, 2024, Khan and Hussain, along with co-conspirators, operated what’s known as a synthetic identity fraud scheme. These schemes often target children, who tend to utilize and monitor their credit less frequently. Khan and Hussain, and their co-conspirators, illegally obtained valid social security numbers that belonged to real individuals (victims), and used the numbers to create synthetic identities, meaning without the knowledge or permission of the real owner. The defendants used the synthetic identities to submit approximately 1,072 online applications to financial institutions for credit and debit cards. The defendants rented apartments in the Western District of New York and used them as mailing addresses for the synthetic cards. After collecting the credit and debit cards, Khan, Hussain and the others used the cards to make purchases at retail stores, such as Apple, BJs, and Sam’s Club, as well as at their own businesses, including Lucky Beverage, Chili Express Mart, and Easy Food Market. They also used the cards to pay for the property taxes of three Rochester properties. They then used fraudulent checks to make payments towards the balances of the synthetic cards in order to temporarily increase the synthetic cards’ spending limits. Ultimately, the full balance owed on the cards was not paid, causing damage to the credit ratings of victims and losses to the financial institutions, including American Express, Bank of America, Barclays Bank Delaware, Capital One, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Citibank, Comenity Bank, Discover Bank, First National Bank of Omaha, Synchrony Bank, and US Bank. The total loss to the financial institutions is approximately $2,257,697. “Stealing the identity of any person is wrong and it’s a crime, but stealing the identity of a child is especially egregious,” stated U.S. Attorney DiGiacomo. “Let this case serve as a warning that those who commit identity theft will be prosecuted. But let it also serve as a warning to families of the importance of maintaining credit monitoring for your children.” The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan K. McGuire. The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Allen D. Davis, II, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation New York, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Harry T. Chavis, Jr., the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Boston Division, under the direction of Acting Inspector-in-Charge Justin Page, and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Amy Connelly, Boston New York Field Division. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. # # # #