James T. Jacks
Acting United States Attorney
Northern District of Texas

DALLAS WOMAN SENTENCED TO NEARLY THREE YEARS
IN FEDERAL PRISON, WITHOUT PAROLE, IN IDENTITY THEFT CASE

DALLAS — Cynthia Renee Brown, 39, of Dallas, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to 33 months in prison and ordered to pay $7161.14 in restitution, announced James T. Jacks, acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas. Brown, who has been in custody since her arrest in December 2008, pled guilty in February 2009 to four counts of fraudulent use of a Social Security Account Number. In handing down the sentence today, Judge Fitzwater acknowledged the great harm, grief, and inconveniences caused by identity theft and noted that the sentencing guidelines are insufficient to adequately address the victims’ trauma.

A federal indictment returned by a grand jury in Dallas in December 2008, charged Brown with six counts of fraudulent use of a Social Security Account Number and two counts of aggravated identity theft. U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma C. Ramirez entered a detention order on December 22, 2008, stating that Brown had “been convicted of credit card abuse and fraudulent possession of identifying information at the state level on several occasions. Since July 2006, she has been on probation for two separate offenses. At least two of the counts alleged in the current federal indictment occurred while she was on state probation. In addition, there is an active warrant for her pending from Collin County for fraud impersonation, an offense similar to that charged in the federal indictment and for which she has previously been convicted.”

According to documents filed in the case, Cynthia Brown used the Social Security Account Number, date of birth, and drivers license number of other Cindy Browns around the U.S. Defendant Brown would use the victims’ personal information to obtain jobs, rent apartments, obtain utilities, buy cars, etc., and actually work at the job, and pay the rent, utilities, and car payments until she was arrested for various state offenses. Once she was arrested, all her “debts” would go into default, and the real victim Cindy Brown, would suffer the consequences.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Department of Labor. Assistant U.S. Attorney Candina Heath prosecuted the case.

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