Grand Jury Returns Indictment Charging West Valley Man in Connection with Alleged Forgery, Identity Theft Sprees

            SALT LAKE CITY – A federal grand jury returned a 31-count indictment Wednesday morning charging Kevin Russell Humphreys, age 35, of West Valley City with multiple violations of federal law in connection with alleged forgery and identity theft crime sprees in 2013 and 2015 in Salt Lake County.

            The indictment alleges 21 counts of bank fraud for his alleged attempts to defraud banks by cashing stolen and forged checks.

            The first six bank fraud counts relate to Humphreys’ alleged efforts to obtain, typically via theft of mail, identifications and checks belonging to other people or organizations.  He then forged checks in various amounts, made checks payable to people whose identities he illegally possessed or forged, and then cashed or attempted to cash the checks at various financial institutions in Salt Lake County.  The amount of money involved in the bank fraud alleged in these six counts is $19,531.10.  

            The remaining 15 bank fraud counts relate to lines of credit Humphreys applied for and received using personal identifiers that belonged to other people.  He received $93,300 in credit based on the alleged fraud in the 15 counts. Because he didn’t use all of the credit, actual losses to the banks were about $6,448.70.     

            Three counts in the indictment allege fraud in relation to Treasury securities in connection with three stolen U.S. Treasury checks.  Humphreys is also charged with five counts of aggravated identity theft; one count of access device fraud for his alleged use of a credit card belonging to a person identified in the indictment as S.P.  The indictment alleges Humphreys used the card at various locations in Salt Lake County, accumulating $4,464.16 in charges.

            The final count of the indictment alleges possession of stolen mail in connection with one of the Treasury checks.

            The maximum potential penalty for each count of bank fraud is 30 years in prison.  The counts alleging fraud in relation to Treasury securities and access device fraud have potential sentences of 10 years and mail fraud is up to five years. Aggravated identity theft carries a minimum-mandatory sentence of two years per count, and can be added to the end of any sentence imposed on other counts. Humphreys is currently in state custody.  A federal arrest warrant will be issued based on the charges in the indictment.   

            Indictments are not findings of guilt.  Individuals charged in indictments are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.

            The Utah Identity Theft Task Force case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Utah. It is being investigated by task force officers with the Unified Police Department’s Kearns/Magna Precinct and Inspectors with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  The investigation also included significant investigative efforts by detectives with the Draper Police Department and the UPD’s Midvale Precinct.