US Department of Justice headquarters, August 12, 2006. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
What happened after the bank froze the money
Once the school district reported the fraudulent transfer to Sassman’s bank, the account was frozen. The bank also informed Sassman that the money in the account had come from fraudulent proceeds. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.
A former Sacramento resident was found guilty after more than $6.5 million meant for a school district was mistakenly sent to his bank account, according to the US Department of Justice. Part of the money was then used to purchase two expensive watches, worth over $500,000 combined. The case later led to a federal investigation and a jury verdict in June 2026. In September 2019, the Tukwila School District in Washington mistakenly transferred more than $6.5 million to the bank account of William A.
Because the school district eventually discovered the fraud and notified Sassman’s bank, image Credit: Tukwila School District/Facebook At this point, the source of the money became important to the case.
District employees had been deceived into sending the money to Sassman rather than to the account belonging to a legitimate construction contractor, according to evidence described by the US Department of Justice. William A. Sassman received the money after employees of the Tukwila School District in Washington were deceived into sending it to the wrong account. Sassman, then a Sacramento resident.
