Man Sentenced to 51 Months in Prison and Ordered to Pay $300,000 in Restitution for Bank Fraud and Identity Theft

Augusta, GA – Marqualdis Antwon Logan, also known as “Alphonso Baugh,” of Stone Mountain, GA, was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison and orderd to pay restitution of nearly $300,000 after pleading guilty to bank fraud and identity theft charges.

Details of the Fraud

Logan, 38, defrauded a Columbia County woman and her daughter by illegally accessing their money market account. He cashed or deposited checks totaling over $497,000. This money was then used for personal expenses and travel.

The victims noticed suspicious activity in their account in September 2020 and alerted their bank and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office. The FBI discovered that a fraudulent online profile had gained access to the account, using it to transfer funds to accounts controlled by Logan and others.

Previous Criminal History

Logan’s criminal history includes:

Gaining access to another victim’s account using stolen identifying information and withdrawing over $100,000
Receiving $20,832 from a fraudulently obtained COVID-19 small business relief loan

The restitution in the case includes the outstanding unrecovered funds from these previous transgressions.

Damage Caused by Fraudulent Activities

U.S. Attorney Jill E. Steinberg, who prosecuted the case, emphasized the harm caused by such fraudulent activities:

“Hard-working individuals sacrifice to save money for their future needs, including retirement. Marqualdis Logan’s greed-driven scheme stole hundreds of thousands of dollars and damaged the financial security of his innocent victims.”

FBI’s Commitment

Brian Ozden, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, added:

“These fraud scams, while not violent, are not victimless and can be devastating to individuals and their personal livelihoods. This guilty plea demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to working with our partners to bring anyone to justice who would steal from hard-working and honest individuals rather than earning an honest living themselves.”

Investigation

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer A. Stanley represented the United States during the prosecution.

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