Jacksonville Man On Federal Supervised Release Sentenced To 41 Years In Federal Prison For Aggravated Identity Theft And Fraud Charges

Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Anthony Johnson (53, Jacksonville) to 41 years in federal prison for aggravated identity theft, bank fraud, false representation of a Social Security number, mail fraud, and for violating his federal supervised release. As part of his sentence, the court also ordered him to pay restitution to multiple victims he had defrauded. Johnson was arrested on July 11, 2016, for violating his federal supervised release and he was subsequently indicted on fraud charges on August 10, 2016. He has remained in federal custody since his arrest. On October 19, 2017, a federal jury found Johnson guilty of nine counts of aggravated identity theft, nine counts of bank fraud, seven counts of false representation of a Social Security number, and three counts of mail fraud.

According to evidence presented at trial, beginning in 2014, Johnson falsely claimed to be a former member of the U.S. Army and used the Social Security numbers of two victims, including a lawyer from Seattle, to open a bank account and to obtain a loan and multiple credit cards from USAA in the names of his victims. After obtaining multiple credit card convenience checks, Johnson withdrew thousands of dollars from the USAA bank account for his own use. After obtaining a genuine Florida driver license using the identity of a doctor from Texas, Johnson obtained two fraudulent loans totaling over $148,000 from Bankers Healthcare Group, LLC (BHG). Johnson had the money from BHG wired to a TD Bank business account in the name of a false medical data company he incorporated in Florida. Using the same identity, Johnson then obtained additional loans from Springleaf Financial Services and had the proceeds wired to the bank account he had set up for the false medical data company. Johnson then set up a personal bank account at TD Bank in the victim’s name and began funneling money from the business account to the personal account. Thereafter, Johnson began making large cash withdrawals to fund his purchase of luxury items including a $70,000 luxury car. During this time, Johnson used the identity of a fourth victim to obtain an apartment and then obtained another genuine Florida driver license using the identity of a fifth victim. 

During the summer of 2016, using proceeds from his criminal activity, Johnson left the United States in violation of his federal supervised release imposed after a previous federal conviction for fraud and identity theft-related charges. While on this trip, he stayed at the Waldorf Astoria, purchased high-end personal items, and spent more than $4,000 while visiting a club/restaurant. On July 11, 2016, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in coordination with the U.S. Marshals Service, arrested Johnson at the Orlando International Airport for violating the terms of his supervised release.

“The U.S. Secret Service is committed to investigating these types of fraud investigations with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners due to the impact on the U.S. financial system and our local community,” said Neil Melofchik, Special Agent in Charge of the USSS Jacksonville Field Office.

This case was investigated by the Florida Highway Patrol – Bureau of Criminal Investigations and Intelligence, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the United States Secret Service - Jacksonville Field Office. Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein and Beatriz Gonzalez prosecuted it.