A member of the Lows Minneapolis street gang admitted to his role in stealing about $220,000 by depositing fraudulent checks and stealing bank information as part of a yearslong fraud scheme for the benefit of the gang.
Peter Amondo Anderson, 24, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on Thursday to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft in connection with the scheme that lasted April 2019 to January 2024. His sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
According to court filings, Anderson and three other members of the north Minneapolis street gang carried out the fraud plot by using social media to recruit “money mules” who assisted the group by offering their bank information. The Lows members then wrote false checks to the money mules, who deposited the checks and quickly withdrew the money to return to the gang members to split.
Federal prosecutors said the gang also stole bank information from innocent civilians, including a 65-year-old from North Carolina. The group is accused of swindling them out of $39,000. The stolen money was used for personal purchases and also steered to the Lows gang, prosecutors said.
“The murderous Lows gang has ravaged the North Side with its violence while using fraud to fuel its crimes. No more,” said acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson. “We are good at prosecuting fraud and will continue to use every federal tool at our disposal to dismantle these violent street gangs.”
Anderson is the second Lows member to plead guilty in the fraud case. His co-defendant, Faysal Mohamed, 27, entered a plea on Aug. 5.
Fourteen Lows members are scheduled to go on trial next year to face charges ranging from murder and gun and drug trafficking in a related federal racketeering case. A series of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) trials against the Lows rival gang, the Highs, ended late July with convictions for 38 of the 40 members.
