Washington, DC Man Sentenced To 120 Months For Conspiracy And Aggravated Identity Theft

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Benjamin F. Weatherly, 31, of Washington, DC, was sentenced
today to a total of 120 months in prison, followed by 2 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Weatherly was also ordered to forfeit and pay restitution in the amount of $110,495.57.

        Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Gary R. Barksdale, Postal Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Washington Division, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Anthony J. Trenga.

According to court documents, Weatherly conspired with others to obtain and use, without lawful authority, credit cards and credit card convenience checks issued to other people.  The conspirators obtained these credit cards and credit card convenience checks by stealing mail.  Weatherly and his co-conspirators also used stolen personal identifying information to apply for and obtain additional credit cards.  The conspirators deposited fraudulently executed stolen credit card convenience checks into bank accounts that they controlled.  Further, they used the stolen and fraudulently obtained credit cards to make purchases in the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere.  Weatherly and his conspirators also filed fraudulent tax returns, caused fraudulent tax refunds to be issued in the name of at least one individual whose mail they had stolen, and deposited the returns into a fraudulently opened bank account.  On January 3, 2013, Weatherly pleaded guilty to two counts of an indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

        This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service.  Special Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Maurer, Assistant United States Attorney Kosta S. Stojilkovic, and former Special Assistant United States Attorney Stacy L. Bogert prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

            A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov.