Knoxville Woman Sentenced To 30 Months In Federal Prison For Identity Theft Scheme

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.- Adrianne Y. Thompson, 41, of Knoxville, Tenn., was sentenced on Feb. 20, 2103, by the Honorable Thomas W. Phillips, U.S. District Court Judge, to serve 30 months in federal prison for misusing the Social Security number of another person and aggravated identity theft. Thompson had previously pleaded guilty to the charges.

At the time she engaged in the criminal conduct, Thompson was employed at a cellular telephone store. Through her employment at the store, she obtained the Social Security number of her victim under the false pretense of determining the victim’s eligibility for a new cellular telephone. She then used the victim’s Social Security number to open a checking account at a bank in Knoxville, Tenn. After opening the checking account using the victim’s Social Security number, Thompson proceeded to use that checking account to write fraudulent checks.

U.S. Attorney William C. Killian stated, “Identity theft is a growing problem in our society that causes great harm to its victims. Under federal law, aggravated identity theft is punishable by a mandatory minimum term of two years in prison to be served consecutive to any other sentence. We will continue to use the aggravated identity theft statute to ensure that people who engage in this type of conduct spend time in federal prison.”

The investigation was led by the Knoxville Police Department’s Property Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Bolitho represented the United States.