CHINA GROVE, NC MAN SENTENCED FOR IDENTITY THEFT CRIMES
Sentence of 57 Months Received Following Entry of Guilty Pleas in Federal Court STATESVILLE, NC - John Reid Perkins, Jr., 37, of China Grove, North Carolina wassentenced in federal court in Statesville Wednesday to 57 months in federal prison on convictions for identity theft, bank fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy, announced United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert.
The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge Richard L. Voorhees.Shappert was joined in the announcement by Russell F. Nelson, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service, and by Nathaniel Gray, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Perkins pleaded guilty to the charges. Perkins’crimes affected 18 businesses and individuals who suffered a financial loss and/or were the victim of identity theft. The loss amount to the victims was in excess of $400,000.
Perkins’ identity theft and fraud spanned over five years from May 2000 through October 2005. Perkins’ fraudulent scheme involved stealing the identities of individuals to use victims’ identity information to obtain automobile loans to finance the purchase of vehicles that he later sold to unsuspecting buyers over the internet. Perkins’ victims included people whose identities were stolen, car dealerships, automobile financing companies and internet purchasers of vehicles.
“The John Reid Perkins case illustrates the life cycle of identity theft crime and the wide
range of victims left behind. This Office has made combating identity theft, and fraud using identity information, a priority,” said U.S. Attorney Shappert. “Criminals who commit identity theft need to know that they will go to prison,” she added..
In the greater Charlotte area, several federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies,
working together with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, have been very successful in combating identity theft and document fraud:
U.S. Secret Service
U.S. Postal Inspection Service
Federal Bureau of Investigation
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Social Security Administration
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department
Some of the ways identity theft has been prioritized by the U.S. Attorney include naming an Identity Theft Coordinator whose primary focus is the prosecution of identity theft and document fraud crimes and who serves as the primary contact with law enforcement agencies. The U.S. Attorney’s Office also uses all of the tools at its disposal, including the “aggravated identity theft” statute, to aggressively prosecute identity theft and document fraud crimes. As a result of the hard work of dedicated law enforcement officers and federal prosecutors, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is successfully prosecuting numerous identity theft and document fraud cases.
What Victims of Identity Theft Should Do
Place a fraud alert on your credit reports and review your credit reports Equifax: 800.525.6285; www.equifax.com
Experian: 888.EXPERIAN; www.experian.com
TransUnion: 800.680.7289; www.transunion.com
Close the accounts that you know, or believe, have been tampered with or opened fraudulently
Call someone in security/fraud department
Follow up in writing with documents
Get forms to dispute fraudulent transactions
Once resolved, ask for a letter stating that company has closed disputed accounts and discharged fraudulent debts
File a report with local police or other law enforcement agency and get a copy of it Use the ID Theft Affidavit, available online at the Federal Trade Commission (www.FTC.gov), when disputing new unauthorized accounts.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Gleason.
JOHN REID PERKINS, JR.
DOCKET NUMBER 5:05CR248-01-V
37 YEARS OLD
CHINA GROVE, NC
|
