TACOMA, Wash. - A Korean national who used phony passports to open fraudulent bank accounts in several states was sentenced today in federal court to 41 months in prison and fined more than $360,000 as a result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Following completion of his prison term, Sung Chul Lee, 48, of Cerritos, Calif., will be held by immigration authorities for deportation from the United States.

Lee was the ringleader of a group that traveled around the country using fraudulent Korean passports to open bank accounts and rent mail boxes. Members of the ring would deposit checks into the accounts, knowing there were insufficient funds to cover the checks. They would quickly withdraw cash from the accounts before the bad checks were returned for insufficient funds.

In May 2004, Young Ho Chang, one of Lee's associates, traveled through Wash., Calif., Ariz. and Fla. opening bank accounts and renting mail boxes. The checkbooks and bank cards derived from this activity were given to Lee.

In May 2006, ICE agents arrested Lee in Federal Way, Wash., when he attempted to retrieve materials left in a hotel room used by two other members of the ring who had earlier been arrested. In the hotel room, ICE agents found numerous checks and debit cards issued in a variety of names, 43 picture pages from Korean passports with different names, paperwork documenting numerous mail box rentals, bank accounts, and maps of various cities.

"Use of fraudulent identification documents by individuals in violation of our immigration laws is a significant concern to ICE regardless of the underlying criminal offense," said Mike McCool, deputy special agent in charge for the ICE office of investigations in Seattle. "ICE will aggressively investigate this type of criminal activity."

In total, the banks were defrauded of more than $360,000. Four of Lee's co-conspirators pleaded guilty to charges including aiding and abetting trafficking in false authentication features. Three of the four were sentenced to time in prison.

-- ICE --