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A convicted financial institution robber — who additionally as soon as stole the id of one of many world’s richest males with a purpose to pocket his $1.4-million tax refund — now awaits sentencing for a unique type of fraud scheme, one which focused Southern California surfers.
Moundir Kamil, 56, was the mastermind behind an almost $1-million scheme that focused surfers whereas they had been catching waves, in accordance with federal prosecutors.
Orange County resident Kamil, together with accomplices Jordan Adams and Jennifer Pruneda, pleaded responsible in September to conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud, tried financial institution fraud and aggravated id theft. Sentencing for Kamil is anticipated to happen Wednesday in downtown Los Angeles.
Based on court docket paperwork and media studies, Kamil and his co-conspirators burglarized automobiles to steal bank cards, debit playing cards, telephones and different types of identification to later make fraudulent purchases, together with luxurious objects and costly electronics, totaling no less than $850,000.
The larceny happened throughout varied Southern California seashores together with Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Manhattan Seashore, in addition to seashores in San Diego County and different widespread browsing spots, from April 2021 by way of December 2022.
In a single case reported by a Newport Seashore surfer, he found that somebody had taken his keys from his beachside residence and used them to steal his pockets and telephone from his automotive whereas he surfed. The thief was later recognized and alleged to be a part of an organized crime ring led by Kamil.
The scheme additionally concerned lookouts who would watch the place surfers would stash their keys earlier than they hit the waves; then a companion in crime would seize the important thing and break into the automotive, taking telephones and wallets. Kamil was in a position to hack facial recognition software program on telephones to get into the victims’ apps, prosecutors mentioned. The thieves would then empty out financial institution and different accounts.
When bank card corporations would name to examine on fraudulent exercise, the thieves would reply the telephone and approve the fees, paperwork present.
Kamil isn’t any stranger to cash schemes.
In 2011, he pleaded responsible to at least one depend of financial institution fraud for stealing an almost $1.4-million tax refund examine from billionaire Donald Bren, an actual property mogul and Irvine Co. chairman.
A federal decide ordered Kamil to pay $1.1 million in restitution. He was additionally sentenced to 99 days in jail and three years’ probation, which included searching for psychological well being remedies for a playing habit.
Again in 2003, he was convicted of robbing six banks throughout Orange County, for which he was sentenced to 30 months in federal jail and dubbed the “Give Me Extra Bandit,” as a consequence of his calls for for additional money from tellers.
Metropolis Information Service contributed to this report.
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