Identity Theft Carries Serious Penalties in Florida
If you use someone else’s personal identifying information to commit another crime, such as wire or mail fraud, federal prosecutors can charge you with aggravated identity theft. This is one of the more serious white collar crimes you can be charged with under federal law. In addition to any sentence imposed for the underlying offense, the aggravated identity theft component carries an additional sentence of 2 years, which must be served consecutively (i.e., after) the original sentence.
Titusville Man Sentenced to 8 Years for Fraud, Parole Violation
To illustrate just how serious the consequences for aggravated identity theft are in Florida, consider this recent criminal prosecution of a man from Titusville. In United States v. Linot, a federal grand jury sitting in Jacksonville indicted the defendant on six charges arising from an alleged identity theft scheme. According to the indictment, the defendant used another person’s Social Security number and a counterfeit Georgia driver’s license to open a bank account at a credit union here in Florida. The defendant then allegedly used that bank account to apply for, and receive, a credit card from the same credit union.
The six counts in the indictment can be broken down as follows:
- Bank Fraud: Allegedly submitting false information to the credit union to open an account.
- Mail Fraud: Causing the United States Mail to deliver the defendant a credit card based on his allegedly fraudulent application.
- Falsely Representing a Social Security Number (2 counts): Allegedly using the stolen Social Security number on two separate occasions; once when opening the bank account, and the second when applying for the credit card.
- Aggravated Identity Theft: Allegedly committing identity theft on 2 separate occasions to commit the alleged offenses described above.
Rather than go to trial, the defendant chose to enter into a plea agreement with the United States Attorney’s Office in Tampa. Under the terms of the agreement, the defendant pleaded guilty to the bank fraud charge and one of the aggravated identity theft charges. In exchange, the government agreed to dismiss the other four counts.
In accepting the plea agreement, United States Senior District Judge Brian J. Davis sentenced the defendant to 5 years for the bank fraud charge and the mandatory 2 years for aggravated identity theft, for a total of 7 years to be served consecutively. The defendant will actually spend 8 years in prison, however, because he was subject to an additional year for violating the terms of his supervised release in an unrelated case. And after the defendant is released from prison, he will have to serve an additional 5 years on supervised release, which is the federal equivalent of probation.
Contact Joshi Law Firm Today
If seven years in prison for identity theft sounds harsh, consider that the statutory maximum in some cases can be as high as 20 years. In other words, this is the sort of charge you need to take very seriously. If you need legal advice or representation from a qualified Orlando identity theft attorney, call the Joshi Law Firm, PA, today at 844-GO-JOSHI or contact us online to schedule a free initial consultation.
Source:
justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/titusville-man-federal-supervision-sentenced-eight-years-aggravated-identity-theft-and
