Defendant Sentenced for Theft of Government Property, Possession of Unauthorized Access Device, and Aggravated Identity Theft
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA–Jamahl Hurley, 27, of Tallahassee, Florida, was sentenced to a total of 48 months in federal prison yesterday. United States District Judge Robert Hinkle sentenced Hurley to serve 24 months in federal prison for theft of government property and possession of fifteen or more unauthorized access devices, and to serve a consecutive term of 24 months for aggravated identity theft. Hurley was also ordered to pay $208,337.00 in restitution. The sentence was announced by Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
Hurley’s charges stem from a traffic stop that occurred on May 17, 2013, during which officers recovered a black bag that contained several notebooks with personal identifying information (PII) belonging to other persons. Officers also recovered debit cards in other peoples’ names from the bag. During the investigation, agents discovered that the PII had been used to file multiple fraudulent income tax returns for tax years 2011 and 2012, seeking approximately $865,931.00 in refunds, of which $208,337.00 was actually paid out.
U.S. Attorney Marsh credited the successful prosecution of this case to the excellent investigative work and cooperative efforts of the United States Secret Service, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Florida Highway Patrol. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Herbert Lindsey.