Former Employee of Retirement Center Sentenced for Stealing Identities of Elderly Residents

Christopher Rhodes, age 53, of Lovejoy, Illinois, has been sentenced to a total of 36 months in prison for stealing the identities of elderly residents at a senior living facility where he used to work, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Steven D. Weinhoeft, announced today. Rhodes previously pled guilty to three counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft back in June of this year. In addition to his prison sentence, Rhodes was also ordered to pay restitution totaling $15,894.03.

Rhodes was formerly an employee of St. Paul’s Senior Community, a not-for-profit retirement community in Belleville, Illinois. In his position, Rhodes had access to residents’ medical, health and personally identifiable information (PII). Court proceedings established that from 2008 through July of 2017, Rhodes used names, social security numbers and other PII belonging to residents of St. Paul’s, without lawful authority, to obtain and maintain electric and gas service, water service, and satellite television service at his home.

The investigation was conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman R. Smith.