Milwaukie Man Sentenced to 48 Months in Federal Prison for Aggravated Identity Theft, Wire Fraud, and Burglary

PORTLAND, Ore. – U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown today sentenced Bradley Lawrence Berg, 42, of Milwaukie, Oregon, to 48 months in prison for aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, and burglary of a federally insured credit union. Berg also was ordered to pay $45,000 in restitution. Berg committed this latest offense while he was on supervised release after being sentenced to seventy-one months in federal prison for felon in possession of a firearm in 2001.

The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office began investigating a burglary of the Oregonians Federal Credit Union in Milwaukie, Oregon, after employees discovered a roof-top entry had been made during the night of October 7, 2010. Deputies discovered the ATM had been tampered with and the keypad to the vault door had been removed. A used bandage was seized from the crawl space next to the ATM and submitted to the Oregon State Police Crime Lab which determined that Berg’s DNA was on the bandage.

Sometime between November 5, 2010 and November 8, 2010, and again on December 6, 2010, Qwest Communications (now Century Link Communications, Inc.) experienced break-ins to work vans that were stored behind security fencing. Very expensive fiber optic equipment was missing and eventually sold on eBay internet sites.

The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office continued to investigate additional roof-top burglaries at a Clackamas Office Depot store on November 20, 2010 and December 12, 2010, and recovered a tool with Berg’s name on it during the investigation. Berg was later arrested inside a stolen auto in North Portland, on December 26, 2010, when officers responded to a silent alarm and found Berg breathing heavily while pretending to be asleep in the stolen car.

The investigation showed that Berg had instructed his girlfriend to sell stolen merchandise on eBay. A search warrant was executed on Berg’s residence and his storage locker, discovering identity theft equipment, personal information of others, PayPal checks, counterfeit social security cards, and drivers licenses. Upon discovery of the counterfeit documents, the U.S. Secret Service joined the investigation. The defendant later admitted that he sold a fiber fusion splicer for $8,600 to an electrical firm in LaGrange Kentucky, by advertising it on eBay, and collecting wire transferred funds via his PayPal account.

Berg’s girlfriend, Kristin Danielle Burke, 41, was prosecuted in Clackamas County Circuit Court. Berg is expected to face state court charges in Clackamas and Multnomah Counties for property crimes committed there.

The case was investigated by the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Secret Service. Assistant U. S. Attorney John Haub prosecuted the case.