DALLAS — United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould announced that Athuman Farid Omar was sentenced 40 months in federal prison and two years of supervised release for defrauding a Dallas-based credit union that resulted in over $2.3 million in actual losses. Omar, 49, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud in April. On Sept. 23, U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade imposed the sentence and ordered him to pay $2,332,491.91 in restitution.

“This sentence and restitution order reflects the seriousness of Mr. Omar’s long‑running scheme to exploit a trusted relationship and siphon millions of dollars from a financial institution that serves our community,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould. “This Office will not tolerate those who exploit personal relationships and manipulate the banking system for illicit gain. We will protect the integrity of our financial institutions and relentlessly pursue anyone who attempts to defraud them.” According to court documents and statements at the sentencing hearing, Omar exploited his years-long relationship with the former CEO of the Dallas-based credit union and coconspirator, Jonathan Salcedo. He used that relationship to defraud the financial institution out of millions of dollars by depositing insufficiently funded checks into several business accounts he had opened with the credit union that were issued from an account with a separate bank. The eighteen-month long scheme came to an end in December 2022, when in the span of just two days, Omar attempted to deposit 56 checks totaling $1,160,780 from his account with a separate bank to an account with the credit union, despite knowing that he did not have sufficient funds to cover the amount of those checks. Omar is a Tanzanian citizen who has resided in the Dallas area for decades without legal status in the United States. He will be transferred to ICE custody upon completion of his federal sentence. Coconspirator Jonathan Salcedo has also entered a guilty plea, and his case is set for sentencing later this year.

The FBI Dallas conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Koos prosecuted the case.