Jackson Man Pleads Guilty to Aggravated Identity Theft and Falsely Using the Identity of a Veteran to Receive Government Benefits

Jackson, Miss. – Tierun Bush, 56, of Jackson, pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Tom S. Lee to one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of theft of government funds and property, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst.

From 2005 to 2018, Tierun Bush used the name, social security number and other identifiers of a U.S. military veteran to fraudulently receive medical care, narcotics, medical equipment and financial assistance with the cost of housing from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Bush, who is not a military veteran, was a long time patient at the G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery VA Medical Center in Jackson under the name of the victim whose identity he stole. When first approached by agents from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Bush provided the name of the victim as his own, but quickly confessed when told that the agents had already interviewed the victim, who lives out of state. As a result of his fraudulent use of the identity of a veteran, Bush was able to obtain goods and services from the government valued at over $133,000.

Bush will be sentenced by Judge Lee on November 29, 2018, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine for theft of government funds, and a mandatory sentence of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft, which, by law, must be served consecutive to the term of imprisonment for theft of government funds. Restitution is mandatory under federal law.

The case was investigated by the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dave Fulcher