Man sentenced for bank fraud scheme

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Bernard Walker, 32, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of engaging in a bank fraud scheme to defraud Key Bank on June 26, 2009, was sentenced Tuesday, to 10 months in prison, to be served with a combination of halfway house and home confinement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gretchen L. Wylegala, who handled the case, stated that the defendant had been convicted of use of an unauthorized access device to obtain money, when he used a fraudulent ATM card to make numerous withdrawals from a Key Bank account between November 22, 2005 and April 6, 2006.

This conviction is related to the convictions of his wife, Janei London Walker, who pled guilty in July 2009 to bank fraud affecting two area banks, as well as to tax fraud and HUD fraud.

Ms. Walker was sentenced in November 2009 to a 21 months in prison. Both Bernard Walker and Janei London Walker are required to pay restitution to the victim banks.