United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Mark Pignatello, 54, of Kent, Connecticut, pleaded guilty recently in U.S. District Court to bank fraud, social security number fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

According to court records, from October 22 through 24, 2018, Pignatello traveled across Maine and New Hampshire visiting branches of People’s United Bank at which he passed or attempted to pass counterfeit checks made out to others; one of those checks was cashed at the Orono branch of the bank. He used the Social Security numbers and other personal information of these individuals to impersonate them and used counterfeit driver’s licenses bearing his image but their personal information. He was apprehended by the Newport police outside of the  branch of People’s United Bank there, where his activity had been identified as fraudulent.

Pignatello faces up to 30 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $1 million on the bank fraud charge, up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on the social security number fraud charge, and a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison on the aggravated identity theft charge, as well as up to five years of supervised release. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Secret Service and the Maine State Police.

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