10/13/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/14/2026 17:25
BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Jennifer Poliandro, 44, of Wyandanch, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, was sentenced to serve 36 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Between February 18 and February 26, 2026, Poliandro conspired with others to obtain personally identifiable information of multiple victims from the internet and use this information to create counterfeit military identification cards and United States passport cards. These fraudulent cards were then used to obtain and attempt to obtain money from various banks in the Western District of New York area. On February 18, 2026, Poliandro went to a Lake Shore Bank branch in Fredonia, NY, where she used a counterfeit military identification card in the name of an individual residing in Jamestown, NY, to obtain $7,800 from a home equity line of credit account associated with the individual. The total loss amount of the scheme, including actual loss and intended loss, is between $15,000 and $40,000.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Franz M. Wright. The sentencing is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Anthony Patrone, and the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) New York Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Fanelli.