BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging James Rasmussen, 44, of Westmount, Quebec, Canada, and John Shestowsky, 51, of Greenfield Park, Quebec, Canada, with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. In addition, defendant Rasmussen is charged with trafficking in unauthorized access devices and aggravated identity theft.
According to the indictment, between April 2018, and July 2020, Rasmussen and Shestowsky conspired with others to defraud financial institutions by false and fraudulent pretenses. In furtherance of the scheme, Shestowsky emailed Rasmussen the personal information, including bank account numbers, of various individuals without their knowledge or permission. On April 5, 2018, and January 2, 2019, Shestowsky emailed Rasmussen a listing of nine individuals, their addresses, phone numbers, and, for each individual, a bank name, bank account number, and note indicating a dollar amount in the bank account.
On March 26, 2019, Rasmussen, using the online name “chiefbanker,” established a vendor page on the “Nightmare” marketplace on the Darknet, advertising for sale “high value” bank accounts for “Fraud.” Between June 12, 2019, and January 4, 2020, Rasmussen exchanged a series of email communications concerning the sale of bank account numbers with an individual located in Buffalo, NY. During this time, Rasmussen emailed approximately 52 bank account numbers, along with associated personal identifying information of the account owners, to the individual in Buffalo, requesting payment in the form of Bitcoin. In exchange for bank account numbers, Rasmussen received Bitcoin payments totaling approximately $9,526.31.
In addition, Rasmussen incorporated a fictious business called “First America Solutions Corp.,” and then opened business checking accounts at Bank of America and Wells Fargo. He deposited 65 fraudulent checks totaling approximately $25,080.00 into the accounts. The checks were made using bank account numbers of 65 individuals, including a victim from Savannah, NY, in the Western District of New York.
James Rasmussen was arraigned this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr. and was held pending a detention hearing on June 8, 2026.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Bonanno. The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Brendan Dunford. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance with securing the arrest and May 28 extradition from Canada of Rasmussen to the United States.
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.
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Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Western District of New York — U.S. Department of Justice press release.