A Florida man has pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a scheme that defrauded numerous people, including Connecticut residents, out of more than $250,000 through a scheme involving electronic payment systems like Zelle.
Kuttino Jamal Scott, 24, of Miami, Florida, took a plea deal on Tuesday in federal court in New Haven, pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.
Scott was arrested in connection with the scheme in August 2023 and is free on a $100,000 bond pending a sentencing hearing scheduled for April 13. The charge he pleaded guilty to exposes him to a maximum of 30 years in prison.
According to federal officials, the allegations occurred between February 2021 and August 2023. Scott and others, including Kader Gahmaal Biwaki Edmond, are accused of defrauding numerous victims, including those in Connecticut, out of a total of more than $250,000 through a scheme involving Zelle and other fraud schemes, authorities allege.
According to authorities, the scam would typically involve a victim receiving a text message purporting to be from their bank. The text would ask the victims to confirm a Zelle transaction that they never made.
When a victim would deny the transaction, they would receive a phone call from someone purporting to be from the bank who would instruct them on how to “reverse” the phony transaction, federal officials said. Without their knowledge, the victim’s phone number or email address would be linked via Zelle to a bank account that did not belong to them, authorities said.
The victim would then be prompted to “reverse” the transaction by making a Zelle payment to what they believed was their own account, federal officials said. The account was actually controlled by the scammers.
According to authorities, Edmond pleaded guilty to the same charge as Scott. He was sentenced to three years in prison during a hearing on Aug. 19, 2024.