Bank fraud brings 42-month prison term

ALBANY — A 58-year-old Bronx man was sentenced in federal court in Albany last week for defrauding Capital Region banks of thousands of dollars, prosecutors said.

Antonio Vargas will serve 31⁄2 years in federal prison after prosecutors say he used fake identifications to withdraw $58,000 from others’ accounts. U.S. District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino also ordered he pay back the amount and be under five years of supervised release following his prison sentence, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Vargas pleaded guilty in December to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Prosecutors said he admitted to presenting counterfeit passport cards and driver’s licenses to bank tellers in June and July 2022 in Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Schenectady counties. The documents had his photo but names and other information of customers at

Trustco Bank, Pioneer Bank, Broadview Federal Credit Union, Adirondack Trust Bank and Saratoga National Bank and Trust Company, prosecutors said.

It was not the first time Vargas attempted this, using the same scheme in Louisiana and Connecticut, prosecutors said. He was arrested by Saratoga Springs police July 13, 2022, after trying to withdraw funds from a Saratoga National Bank branch and has been in federal custody since.