Jamaican National Pleads Guilty to Aggravated Identity Theft

BOSTON – A Jamaican national pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to misuse of a Social Security number and aggravated identity theft.

Basil Ledgister, 41, pleaded guilty to one count of misuse of a Social Security number and one count of aggravated identity theft. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel scheduled sentencing for Aug. 8, 2018.

In January 2015, Ledgister falsely represented that a Social Security number belonging to another person was his in an application for a license at the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Ledgister committed aggravated identity theft by using the Social Security number of another person in committing the crime of false representation of a Social Security number.

False representation of a Social Security number provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two-year sentence that must run consecutively to any other sentence, one year of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Peter Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; William B. Gannon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Boston Field Office; Scott Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General; and Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rob Richardson of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.