GREGORY KEVIN WHITE, 41, of Seattle, Washington was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to nearly five years in prison, five years of supervised release and $153,611 in restitution for Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft. The massive identity theft scheme used personal identifying information provided by insiders at a mortgage company and escrow firm. At the sentencing hearing today, U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez noted that White began providing fake IDs for members of the conspiracy while he was awaiting sentencing on a similar Federal counterfeiting case in 2005.

Members of the conspiracy took over bank accounts and drained them, and opened credit accounts in victim names and ran up thousands of dollars in bills. In all more than $335,000 in fraud was linked to this conspiracy. In his sentencing memorandum for the Court, Assistant United States Attorney Norman Barbosa wrote that the success of the entire operation depended on a reliable source of counterfeit IDs, many of which were provided by White and a co-defendant who was sentenced earlier in this case to 18 months in prison. In total, ten defendants were convicted in Federal and State Court including ring leader Charles Griffin who was sentenced to 88 months in Federal prison in December 2007.

A search by U.S. Probation Officers in August 2005, discovered a huge counterfeit ID lab in White’s home including, computers, printers, laminators, and passport style photographs used in the production of counterfeit IDs. Computer forensics analysis of White’s computers later discovered dozens of counterfeit ID templates with photographs of several known Federal ID theft convicts. One of the computers discovered during the August 2005 search, had been seized from Mr. White during a previous investigation in which Mr. White was indicted for producing counterfeit traveler’s checks. That computer still had a King County Sheriff’s Office evidence tag from the previous case when it was recovered by U.S. Probation.

When Mr. White was arrested in August 2005, he was awaiting sentencing for his previous counterfeit traveler’s check scheme. He was later sentenced to 32 months in prison and when he was indicted in this new conspiracy he was transported from Federal Prison in Texas to face these new charges.

Several of Mr. White’s co-conspirators are already serving lengthy prison terms. The primary “runner,” who used the stolen identities, Elizabeth Angous, was sentenced October 13, 2006, to nearly eight years in prison for bank fraud, wire fraud, social security fraud, credit card fraud and Aggravated Identity theft. Belinda Stuckey was sentenced November 17, 2006 to 42 months in prison for Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft. Lamont Jefferson was sentenced to 45 months in prison for Conspiracy to Commit Identity Theft, Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft on November 2, 2007.

These sentences are the result of an eighteen month investigation by a joint task force composed of the Social Security Office of Inspector General, the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), United States Probation, the Lynnwood Police Department, the Samammish Police Department and the Seattle Police Department.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Norman Barbosa and Mark Parrent.

For additional information please contact Emily Langlie, Public Affairs Officer for the United States Attorney’s Office, at (206) 553-4110.

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