Pitshou Yunga Kafuku, a 43-year-old man from Millcreek with U.S. and Congolese citizenship, has been sentenced to nine years in prison and five years of supervised release. Kafuku pleaded guilty to bank fraud conspiracy, bank fraud, theft of government funds, and money laundering following his involvement in a check fraud scheme that operated from 2022 to 2025.
According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice, District of Utah, Kafuku orchestrated a scheme to obtain money from banks through fraud. The operation involved working with individuals in South Africa to obtain stolen checks from the mail.
Kafuku used a network of African expats in Utah to open bank accounts using fraudulent identification documents. These accounts were used to deposit stolen checks, after which funds were withdrawn as cash, transferred to other fraudulent accounts, or used to purchase heavy equipment destined for Africa. The scheme is believed to have defrauded banks of upwards of $1.7 million.
U.S. District Court Judge Tena Campbell ordered Kafuku to pay $1,749,158.73 in restitution. U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak stated that the office has zero tolerance for those who steal to fund an extravagant lifestyle while financial institutions bear the consequences. She expressed hope that the sentence would deter others from similar criminal activity.
Kafuku is the final defendant to be sentenced in this specific scheme. His co-conspirators, Hugues Thierry Simo-Fotue and Beni Musogo Kahwara, were previously sentenced to 24 and 18 months of imprisonment, respectively. Both co-conspirators will be remanded to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation proceedings upon their release.
Kafuku's criminal history includes a 2018 federal felony case involving identity theft and the unlawful possession of identity documents.
The investigation was a joint effort by the IRS-Criminal Investigations Salt Lake City Field Office and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tanner Zumwalt of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah. Scott Brown, the Acting Special Agent in Charge for the IRS-CI Phoenix Field Office, noted that the sentencing underscores the seriousness of the extensive fraud operation.
