Identity Thief Sentenced To 2 Years In Federal Prison

Tampa, FL - U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington today sentenced Linval Thompson a/k/a Cory Howard a/k/a Miguel Cruz to 24 months in federal prison for aggravated identity theft. The court also sentenced Thompson to a one-year term of supervised release, upon his release from prison. Thompson (22), an illegal alien from Jamaica, pleaded guilty to the charges in October 2012. He will be deported to Jamaica following his sentence of incarceration.

According to information contained in court documents, on October 28, 2011, Thompson used the identity and Social Security number of an innocent victim to open a bank account at the Wells Fargo Bank. He subsequently used that bank account to deposit and withdraw money as he needed it.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), along with the Tampa Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay L. Hoffer of the Tampa Division.