Ex-Citibank teller Darren Stephenson, of Valley Stream, charged in $1.6 million bank swindle

A former bank teller from Valley Stream has been charged in an identity theft scheme where businesses and individuals had more than $1.6 million stolen from their Citibank accounts using debit cards and wire transfers.

Darren Stephenson, 41, was arrested last week in Brooklyn and charged in Manhattan federal court with one count of bank fraud conspiracy and one count of aggravated identity theft. He faces up to 30 years in prison, according to an announcement from the office of the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Stephenson hasn't entered a plea to the charges, according to court filings. He couldn't be reached for comment and his attorney didn't respond to requests for comment.

After Stephenson's court appearance, U.S. attorney Jamie McDonald said, "Stephenson exploited his employment at a bank to feed sensitive customer information to his co-defendants, who intercepted bank debit cards and posed as bank customers over the phone and in person."

Stephenson, while working as a teller at Citibank's Westbury branch, provided personal identifying information, such as the maiden name and school associated with a customer's account, to his co-conspirator Catora Noel, 42, of Brooklyn. Stephenson was employed by the bank, which has multiple branches in the metropolitan area, between January 2022 and October 2024, federal prosecutors said.

Citibank spokeswoman Hilary Weissman told Newsday that Stephenson was fired and the bank is helping federal investigators.

"The employee in question was placed on leave and terminated as a result of his actions, and we continue to fully cooperate with law enforcement," she said on Monday.

With the information supplied by Stephenson, federal prosecutors said Noel used debit cards stolen from the postal mail to make withdrawals and wire transfers from customers' accounts at Citibank. Stephenson also directed Noel to certain tellers at the Westbury branch when impersonating customers.

Stephenson was paid an unspecified amount by Noel, FBI special agent Melwin Geevarghese wrote in an 18-page complaint.

Between July 2022 and September 2024, Noel relied on information supplied by Stephenson and another co-conspirator, Imani-Kai Brown, 33, also of Brooklyn, to conduct or attempt to conduct 29 fraudulent transactions — all at Stephenson's bank, the complaint states.

Together, more than $1.6 million was stolen from 18 accounts. More than $40,500 was used to purchase Apple products at two stores in April 2024, according to the complaint.

Noel and Brown couldn't be reached for comment. Noel's attorney didn't respond to requests for comment while no attorney was listed for Brown in court filings.

Noel and Brown were both charged with one count of bank fraud conspiracy and one count of aggravated identity theft. Noel also was charged with one count of access device fraud.

The pair haven't entered pleas to the charges, based on court filings. Each faces a maximum of 30 years in prison.

The fraud scheme ended in September 2024 when Noel was arrested by police in Memphis, Tennessee, while impersonating a bank customer to make two large wire transfers, according to the complaint.

After the defendants' court appearances on Thursday, FBI assistant director-in-charge James C. Barnacle Jr. said they "spent years targeting and exploiting dozens of U.S. businesses and innocent victims," many of them New Yorkers.

By James T. Madore

james.madore@newsday.comJamesTMadore

James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.