A Missouri man has been given a four-year prison term after admitting to identity theft, implicating a wider scam involving 13 individuals. Deleon Ford, a 32-year-old Ferguson resident, received his sentence on Tuesday from U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey. In addition to serving time, Ford must also repay $26,812, as reported by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Missouri.
In a bid to mask his fraudulent activities, Ford submitted online credit applications to various lenders, including hand-delivered identity documents, using his photograph with the stolen personal details of others. The scheme, which unfolded in the U.S. District Court in St. Louis, where Ford pleaded guilty in March, also saw him crafting fake pay stubs, utility bills, and bank statements to secure unsecured loans, rent U-Haul trucks, and open new cell phone accounts. According to the investigation headed by the Department of Homeland Security – Office of Inspector General and the Ellisville Police Department, Ford’s maneuvers extended to assisting an Illinois inmate in securing loans under the names of unsuspecting victims…