Ringleader of ‘sprawling’ check fraud scheme handed 9 years in prison

SALT LAKE CITY — The convicted ringleader of a “sprawling” yearslong check fraud scheme that totaled more than $1.7 million was sentenced last month to nine years in federal prison.

Pitshou Yunga Kafuku, 43, of Millcreek, pleaded guilty in April to bank fraud conspiracy, bank fraud, theft of government funds, and money laundering. He was sentenced on July 28 to nine years in prison, five years on probation and ordered to pay $1,749,158.73 in restitution.

Kafuku orchestrated the elaborate scheme by working with individuals in South Africa to obtain stolen checks from the mail, some of which were sent from the U.S. to business entities, charges state.

“With the help of a small network of African expats in Utah — recruited and directed by Kafuku — the conspirators opened bank accounts using fraudulent identification documents to deposit the stolen checks,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Utah said.

From 2022 to 2025, the group defrauded U.S. banks through depositing fraudulent checks, including U.S. Treasury checks, and then quickly transferring deposits to different accounts, including overseas, or withdrawing the funds as cash before the banks could determine the checks were fake, the federal charges said.

They are accused of sending thousands of dollars to business entities in China and Singapore. By laundering the proceeds, the men disguised “the origin and destination of those funds and the nature of the transactions,” the charges state.

In total, they opened and controlled about 40 accounts at nine different financial institutions in the state using false or stolen identities and falsified identification documents, according to investigators. The men allegedly often used aliases to allow multiple coconspirators to deposit checks into the same account.

“I estimate that I deposited, or assisted in the deposit of, about 131 stolen or otherwise fraudulently obtained checks, payable to about 62 different victims, yielding approximately $1.7 million in fraud proceeds. I also opened about 39 different bank accounts using fabricated identification documents and assisted in the creation of dozens of fraudulent business entities,” Kafuku said in his plea statement.

The fraudulent proceeds were used for travel, restaurants, luxury goods, hotels and other personal expenses. Most of the $1.7 million stolen went to fund Kafuku’s “profligate lifestyle,” prosecutors said.

His coconspirators — Hugues Thierry Simo-Fotue and Beni Musogo Kahwara — were sentenced in June and will be deported after their release as they were illegally residing in the country, federal prosecutors said. All three men were initially charged with bank fraud conspiracy, bank fraud, theft of government funds, passing fraudulent U.S. Treasury checks, possessing stolen mail, international money laundering and money laundering exceeding $10,000.

Simo-Foture received two years in prison for bank fraud conspiracy, bank fraud and theft of government funds, and is ordered to pay $578,468.45 in restitution. Kahwara was given 18 months in prison for bank fraud conspiracy and bank fraud and must pay $77,833.96 of restitution.

According to court documents, Kafuku has lived in the United States for over 20 years and is a U.S. citizen.

“A survivor of the Congolese Civil War, Mr. Kafuku arrived in the United States in 2001, where he was able to attend college and even earn a degree in international business and supply chain management at Old Dominion University. But rather than put his education and opportunities to good use, Mr. Kafuku turned to a life of drugs and fast money,” federal prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum.

Kafuku was previously convicted in federal court in 2018 for identity theft and unlawful possession of identity documents.

“It’s becoming clear that Mr. Kafuku’s schemes are not a crime born out of a lack of opportunity or skill, but a series of decisions by a talented and driven man who’s determined to commit crime rather than pursue a law-abiding career,” prosecutors said.