Hammond Woman Sentenced For Wire Fraud, Mail Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft

HAMMOND – Temika Coleman, age 41, of Hammond, Indiana was sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge James T. Moody upon her plea of guilty to wire fraud, mail fraud, and aggravated identity theft, announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch. 

Coleman was sentenced to 121 months in prison and ordered to pay in excess of $180,000 in restitution to various financial institutions and retailers.

According to documents in this case, Coleman participated in a scheme that involved stolen personal identifying information from victims in more than 10 states and Canada.  Coleman and co-defendants stole some of the victims’ information from a hospital in Arizona.  The stolen records included birth dates, social security numbers, addresses, telephone numbers, employment information, insurance carriers, treating physicians, and identifying information related to the victims’ emergency contacts.  Coleman and others fraudulently opened credit cards, bank accounts, and retail credit accounts on-line. 

Co-defendant Vincent Prunty of Chicago was sentenced in August 2019, to 154 months in prison for his role in the scheme.  Co-defendant Germico Childress of Calumet City, IL pled guilty in June 2018, and is awaiting sentencing. 

The case was the result of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Toi Denise Houston.

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