Librarian nabs Identity Thief
A. Courtney Cox, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced on April 11, 2008, that a 28 year old man from Granite City, Illinois, pleaded guilty to a three count superseding indictment charging him with Possession of Unauthorized Access Devices, Mail Fraud, and Aggravated Identity Theft. At the time of the guilty plea, the prosecution detailed the evidence underlying the charges. On December 11, 2006, a librarian at the Collinsville Public Library became suspicious when the identity thief was using a public computer terminal to purchase merchandise over the Internet. The librarian observed the man was using different names and credit card numbers during the transactions. The librarian called the Collinsville Police Department, and the identity thief was arrested shortly thereafter. Subsequent investigation revealed that the man would do Internet searches to find online fraud forums and websites that discussed illegal methods for obtaining cash fast.
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The man would purchase credit card information via e-mail and would use it to purchase electronics and other merchandise over the Internet. The identity thief would make the purchases in names other than his own, and he would have the fraudulently purchased merchandise shipped via interstate carrier, on occasion arranging for the shipments to be delivered to vacant lots. The man would then pick up the fraudulently purchased merchandise, on occasion selling or pawning it. The identity thief purchased 131 credit card account numbers in October and November of 2007, with many having high lines of credit. The information purchased by the identity thief included customer names, telephone numbers, email addresses, home addresses, credit card numbers, card verification codes, and expiration dates.
In some instances, the customer data profile also included a password. As to the 131 credit card account numbers which the identity thief purchased, investigating agents telephonically interviewed approximately 20 credit card holders. These consumers verified that the credit card accounts were real, and that they had not authorized the man to use them. The charge of Possessing Unauthorized Access Devices carries a penalty of up to ten years imprisonment, and the charge of Mail Fraud carries a penalty of up to twenty years imprisonment. The sentence for Aggravated Identity Theft is a mandatory two-year term of imprisonment, which must run consecutively to the sentence imposed on the Mail Fraud charge. Sentencing is set for July 10, 2008, in Benton, Illinois.
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The amount of the loss caused by the identity thief’s conduct is in dispute and will be resolved at the time of sentencing. By virtue of his plea to the charge of Aggravated Identity Theft, in no event can the man receive a sentence of less than two years of imprisonment for his conduct. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Metro East Cyber Crime Task Force, which includes members of the Collinsville Police Department who are deputized as Special Federal Officers. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne M Garrison.
