Charlotte Woman Pleads Guilty To Identity Theft

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Keniona Thomas, 24, of Charlotte, pleaded guilty to one count of identity theft for stealing the Personally Identifying Information (PII) of victims from the patient files of a Charlotte-area medical practice where she was employed, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

According to filed plea documents and today’s hearing, from in or about late 2014 through August 2016, Thomas provided the PII of more than 150 patients to her co-conspirator, Christopher Roach, who used the PII to make fraudulent purchases and to obtain fake driver’s licenses. According to court records, as an employee of the Charlotte medical practice, Thomas had access to patients’ PII, which included patient names, social security numbers, and dates of birth. Court records indicate that Roach paid Thomas ten dollars for each individual’s PII. As a result of the PII provided by Thomas, Roach and others obtained new credit card accounts and accessed existing accounts to defraud victims and banks of at least $97,000.

Thomas pleaded guilty to one count of identity theft before U.S. Magistrate Judge David C. Keesler. The maximum penalty for the charge is 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date for Thomas has not been set yet.

Christopher Roach was previously sentenced to 95 months in prison on conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft charges.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Rose thanked the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Charlotte, the United States Secret Service’s Charlotte Field Office, and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department, and noted that the case is the result of the Charlotte Financial Crimes Task Force (CFCTF). The task force was formed in early 2016 by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and currently comprises over 25 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies located in the Western District of North Carolina. The goal of the taskforce is to focus on the identification and development of financial fraud investigations in the Charlotte area. Based on crime trends in the area, the task force began to focus its efforts on violent offenders with lengthy criminal histories who are committing fraud.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimlani Ford, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, is prosecuting the case.