[BreachExchange] Maryland woman gets 5+ years for widespread identity theft of Freddie Mac employees

[Audrey McNeil]

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/40171-maryland-woman-
gets-5-years-for-widespread-identity-theft-of-freddie-mac-employees

A Maryland woman will spend more than the next five years in federal prison
after being convicted of stealing the identities of more than 2,000
employees and affiliates of Freddie Mac and using those identities to fund
a lavish lifestyle.

According to information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern
District of Virginia, Allise Jones received a sentence of 5 ½ years in
prison for the widespread identity theft of current and former employees of
Freddie Mac, along with the Department of Veterans Affairs, and others.

Back in February, a federal jury convicted Jones on charges of conspiracy
to commit identity theft, conspiracy to commit access device fraud, two
counts of access device fraud, and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

Evidence presented at Jones’ trial showed that from October 2012 to April
2014, Jones and her co-conspirators had access to personally identifiable
information from over 100 VA employees and more than 2,000 Freddie Mac
employees and affiliates. The authorities are not elaborating on Jones'
methods to obtain this information illegally.

And according to the authorities, Jones conspired with others to steal that
personal information and used it to obtain fraudulent identification
documents and credit accounts, which they then used to defraud financial
institutions, retailers, and others.

Evidence showed that Jones used the personal information to obtain credit
cards she used to purchase goods and services such as “plastic surgery,
expensive jewelry, and travel,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated.

Jones faced a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each count of
access device fraud, five years in prison for both conspiracy to commit
identity theft and conspiracy to commit access device fraud, and a
mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison for each count of
aggravated identity theft.

But, despite the potential for a lengthier jail sentence, Jones received a
sentence of 5 ½ years.
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