NEWS RELEASE
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
Julia C. Dudley United States Attorney Brian McGinn Public Affairs Specialist |
BB&T Building 310 1st Street, S.W., Room 906 Roanoke, Virginia 24011 (540) 857-2974 FAX (540) 857-2179 |
April 30, 2009
NARROWS WOMAN CHARGED WITH MAIL, WIRE FRAUD
Jill Dunford Faces Significant Prison Time, Fines
United States Attorney Julia C. Dudley announced today the unsealing of an indictment charging Jill Abel Dunford, age 47, of Narrows, Virginia with a variety of crimes related to identity theft, mail fraud and wire fraud.
A federal Grand Jury sitting in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke returned a 16-count indictment against Dunford on April 23, 2009. The grand jury has charged the defendant with two counts of mail fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, two counts of access device fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft.
According to the indictment, Dunford participated in an identity theft scheme from April 2007 through September 2007 in which she used the personal identifiers of her employer and her employer’s daughter to obtain credit card accounts. The defendant did this without the victims’ authorization.
Dunford’s employment allowed her to have access to the name, social security number and other information for both her employer and their daughter. The defendant falsely opened one credit card account for both her employer and her employer’s daughter. In all, the defendant charged a total of $26,877.17 to the two credit cards. The charges included purchases from retail stores, as well as cash withdrawals from ATM machines throughout the Western District of Virginia.
If convicted on all counts, the maximum penalty faced by the defendant is 20 years imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $250,000 for each mail and wire fraud count, 10 years incarceration and/or a fine of up to $250,000 for each access device fraud count and a mandatory two-year term of imprisonment for each aggravated identity theft count.
A trial date is this case has not been scheduled. The defendant had an initial appearance in District Court in Roanoke on Wednesday and was released on a personal recognizance bond at that time.
The investigation of the case was conducted by United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorney Charlene R. Day is prosecuting the case for the United States.
A Grand Jury indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial with the burden on the government to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.