Baltimore Man Sentenced to over Four Years for Using Multiple Social Security Numbers and Identities to Obtain Loans and Credit

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Andre M. Davis sentenced David Aaron Rice, age 29, of Baltimore, today to 51 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 Rice to pay restitution of $64,536.

According to his guilty plea, from 2001 to 2006 Rice and co-defendant Ronald Williams used the social security numbers and identities of others without their knowledge to obtain money and property from banks and other financial institutions. For example, on June 29, 2004, acting as Dominick Reavis, Williams sold 8003 Brookmead Court in Severn, Maryland 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, Rice submitted a letter to the lender, falsely verifying the employment of Williams at a business which did not exist, thereby allowing Williams to secure a $265,500 mortgage to “purchase” the home from himself.

On February 23, 2006, Williams again sold the residence to himself as “Oji Williams.” Since the mortgage broker and title company knew Ronald Williams, David Rice posed as Oji Williams, submitting the application and documentation for the loan, including an identification card bearing Rice’s picture and the name Oji Williams, and using the social security number of a third person without that person’s knowledge. Rice also posed at the closing as Oji Williams. As a result of this fraud, Rice, as Oji Williams, was approved for a $338,000 mortgage to purchase the residence.

Judge Davis previously sentenced Ronald Steven Williams, II, age 33, of Severn, Maryland to 75 months in prison for mail fraud and aggravated identity theft.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Maryland State Police and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation for their investigative work. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Tamera L. Fine, who prosecuted the case.