KNOXVILLE MAN SENTENCED TO 3 YEARS FOR IDENTIFY THEFT SCHEME

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE—Christoper M. Ulmer, 35, of Knoxville, Tennessee was sentenced today by the Honorable Thomas A Varlan, United States District Judge, to serve 3 years in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release. Ulmer was also ordered to pay a fine and restitution and to forfeit personal property he used to commit his crimes. This sentence followed Ulmer's guilty plea to mail fraud and aggravated identity theft.

On April 4, 2008, United States Attorney James R. Dedrick filed an Information in the United States District Court charging Ulmer with engaging in a scheme to defraud various financial institutions using the personal identifiers of other persons without their authorization. Ulmer was also charged under the new federal aggravated identity theft statute -- created to combat the worsening identity theft problem facing our communities.
According to court documents, Ulmer admitted that From November 12, 2006, through May 9, 2007, he obtained credit cards in the names of other individuals without their permission. Ulmer further admitted that he had those credit cards mailed to vacant homes where he collected them. After collecting the fraudulently obtained credit cards, Ulmer made cash withdrawals from ATM machines.
This investigation was led by Special Agent Wendy Boles of the United States Postal Inspection Service with substantial assistance from the Knoxville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney F. M. (Trey) Hamilton III rerpesented the government.
For further information, contact U.S. Attorney James R. Dedrick, Assistant U.S. Attorney F. M. Hamilton III, or Public Information Officer Sharry Dedman-Beard, at 865-545-4167.