FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or
MARCIA MURPHY at 410-209-4885
AUGUST 20, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEVERN MAN SENTENCED TO OVER SIX YEARS FOR FRAUDULENTLY USING MULTIPLE SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS AND IDENTITIES TO OBTAIN LOANS AND CREDIT
Forwarded Unsuspecting Individual’s Mail to Post Office Box He Controlled
Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Andre M. Davis sentenced Ronald Steven Williams, II, age 32, of Severn, Maryland, today to 75 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release for mail fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. Judge Davis also ordered Williams to make full restitution and to forfeit any remaining assets. The full amount of restitution is still to be determined, but is over $120,000.
According to the statement of facts presented at his guilty plea, from June 29, 2001 to July 14, 2006 Williams engaged in a number of fraud schemes using the social security numbers and identities of others without their knowledge to obtain personal and corporate extensions of credit for cars, homes, consumer goods and general credit accounts. For example, on June 29, 2001 Williams purchased a home in Severn, Maryland using the name “Dominick Reavis” and a social security number assigned to a minor child. Acting as Dominick Reavis, Williams submitted false information to the lender, securing a $165,156 mortgage. On June 29, 2004, acting again as Dominick Reavis, Williams sold the home to himself in his own name, using a social security number that was unassigned at the time but was subsequently assigned to a newborn. On that same date, Williams submitted false information to another lender, securing a $265,500 mortgage to “purchase” the home from himself.
In addition, from July 14, 2005 through December 1, 2005 Williams submitted a request for a change of address order in the name of an unsuspecting individual to temporarily forward that individual’s mail to a post office box Williams had rented and he then used that person’s name and personal identifying information to create businesses, open bank accounts, purchase a refrigerator, obtain a car loan of $26,895 and other extensions of credit including a loan for $12,900, a line of credit of $50,000 and a small business line of credit of $16,000.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the investigative work performed by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Maryland State Police and Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Tamera L. Fine, who is prosecuting the case.