BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury today indicted a Birmingham man on three counts of financial access-device fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Special Agent in Charge Guy P. Fallen.

The indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges that MANUEL CHANEY III, also known as “Trey,” possessed more than 15 account numbers and used them to conduct transactions totaling more than $1,000 between January 2010 and November 2010. It also charges that CHANEY, 27, transferred, possessed, or used Social Security numbers and bank account numbers of a dozen people in relation to his crimes.

“The law protects people from having their ‘access devices,’ which include account numbers, as well as debit or credit cards, stolen or used without authorization,” Vance said. “My office will continue to fight financial fraud by pursuing cases where people use access devices that do not belong to them.”

If convicted, CHANEY faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on two of the access-device fraud counts. He faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the third fraud charge. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory prison term of two years.

The Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa K. Atwood is prosecuting the case.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

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