A former TD Bank employee, Cheungkin Lam, also known as Kelvin Lam, pleaded guilty on May 6 to defrauding customers and bribing another financial institution’s employee to falsify bank records, resulting in more than $3.4 million in fraud losses, according to U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer.
Lam, 28, entered his plea before Judge Esther Salas in Newark to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution and making false bank entries or reports. He is scheduled for sentencing on October 15.
“Lam leveraged his and a co-conspirator’s insider positions at two different financial institutions to facilitate millions of dollars of fraud in exchange for bribes. We expect bank employees to help root out fraud, not enable it. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to hold financial institutions and their employees accountable when they break the law and undermine the integrity of the financial system,” said Frazer.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said, “Lam abused his position as a bank employee to help fraudsters steal money from unwitting customers and bribed another bank employee to do the same. Bank employees are the first line of defense against money laundering, fraud, and other financial crimes. When bank employees violate the public trust by using their positions to enrich themselves through financial crime, the Criminal Division will investigate and prosecute them.” Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan stated, “Cheungkin Lam’s conduct represents a grave breach of the trust placed in financial professionals… IRS-CI remains firmly committed to working with our law enforcement partners to identify and hold accountable those who abuse positions of trust for personal gain.”
According to court documents and statements made during proceedings, from January through May 2021 Lam accepted bribes while employed at TD Bank by identifying accounts with large balances and sharing confidential customer information with co-conspirators who then defrauded those accounts. From May through August 2022 he also bribed an employee at another institution so that fraudulent accounts could be opened for use by his associates’ schemes. In total, he received at least $155,000 in bribes while facilitating over $3.4 million in losses.
The charges each carry maximum penalties of up to 30 years imprisonment and fines up to $1 million or twice the amount involved or lost by victims—whichever is greater.
Frazer credited special agents from IRS Criminal Investigation Newark Field Office under Special Agent Piovesan; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-Office of Inspector General New York Region under Special Agent Patricia Tarasca; as well as assistance from Morristown Police Department for their roles in investigating this case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey prosecutes federal crimes across New Jersey with offices located in Newark, Trenton, and Camden; it employs about 170 attorneys and support staff statewide as part of its role within the Department of Justice, according to its official website.
