Toledoan gets about 8 years for fraud, identity theft

10/26/2013

A Toledo man who stole people’s identities, used them to obtain credit cards, and bought about $62,000 in goods and services was sentenced this week to more than eight years in prison.

Jermain R. Stevenson, 23, had pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in April to one count of wire fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft. Judge James Carr sentenced him Monday to 99 months in prison and ordered him to pay $20,000 in fines and $62,326 in restitution.

Federal prosecutors said Stevenson used the Internet to gain personal information from people, which he used between 2010 and 2012 to defraud banks that issued credit cards . At sentencing, prosecutors presented evidence that Stevenson continued to perpetrate the fraud while in jail, directing others to illegally transfer money from Western Union, Liberty Reserve, and other services.