AMES, IOWA WOMAN SENTENCED TO 36 MONTHS FOR BANK FRAUD AND AGGRAVATED IDENTIFIED THEFT
On July 10, 2009, Jennifer Lyn Wheelock-Armstrong, 30, of Ames, Iowa, was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced United States Attorney Matthew G. Whitaker. Sentence was imposed by United States District Judge James E. Gritzner. Wheelock-Armstrong also was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $25,259.30, plus $200 in special assessments to the Crime Victims Fund. After she is released from prison, Wheelock-Armstrong will remain under the supervision of the United States Probation Office for a five-year term of supervised release.
Wheelock-Armstrong pleaded guilty to these charges on January 26, 2009. In her written plea agreement, she admitted using stolen identification documents to conduct unauthorized transactions on accounts at U.S. Bank and the Greater Iowa Community Credit Union, and also for purposes of obtaining goods and other things of value at a number of business in central Iowa and elsewhere. This included the use of a fraudulently obtained traveler’s check to purchase a vehicle at a car dealership in Rochester, Minnesota, and the use of a stolen credit card to obtain a rental vehicle in Des Moines. The rental vehicle eventually was recovered in Mason City. These events occurred during June through August of 2008.
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Ames Police Department, and was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
United States Attorney Matthew G. Whitaker stated that his office is committed to prosecuting these cases because identify theft continues to be a serious problem involving numerous victims. Persons who believe that they may be the victims of identity theft should contact their local police department, and also may obtain additional information from the Web site of the Federal Trade Commission, at:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/consumers/filing-a-report.html