Georgia Woman Indicted On Aggravated Identity Theft And Fraud Charges

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Kiana Fiona Alphonse (28, Covington, Georgia) with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, seven counts of bank fraud, five counts of false representation of a Social Security number (SSN), and five counts of aggravated identity theft. If convicted, Alphonse faces up to 30 years in federal prison for each count of bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, a consecutive mandatory minimum penalty of 2 years’ imprisonment for each aggravated identity theft count, and up to 5 years in prison on each false SSN representation count.       

According to the indictment, Alphonse and her co-defendant, Anthony Jermaine Robinson, obtained the personally identifiable information (PII) of multiple victims. The co-defendants then obtained counterfeit driver licenses purportedly from Washington state and Delaware. The counterfeit driver licenses contained the PII of victims, but the picture of Alphonse. Using the PII, including the SSNs of victims, the counterfeit driver licenses, and documents created for fictitious businesses, Alphonse went into multiple banks and opened business bank accounts in the name of various victims. These bank accounts were then utilized, as part of a scheme to defraud multiple victims.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty. 

This case was investigated by the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Secret Service Jacksonville Field Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.