The U.S. Department of Justice says a man from Florida, already serving 10 years in prison for committing fraud back home, has pleaded guilty to stealing identities in southwest Georgia.
According to federal officials, Damien D. Dennis, 44 of Middleburg, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated identity theft on Feb. 7.
The DOJ said Dennis was caught “trading personal identification information with individuals on the dark web, as well as showing others how to get fraudulent bank loans.”
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Court documents show Dennis was pulled over for speeding in February 2020. He was driving with a suspended license and was arrested.
Officers found eight driver’s licenses belonging to real people living in seven states, a social security card, blank W-2 forms, blank check papers, badge makers, printers, bank ID cards, security laminates and business card protectors.
“Innocent people’s identities were stolen and used to create phony documents so other scam artists could commit all manner of theft and fraud,” U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary said. “Damien Dennis was running an ID theft scheme that went so far as to teach other individuals how to commit fraud—including how to obtain bank loans—using other people’s stolen identities. Working alongside our law enforcement partners, our office is committed to holding fraudsters accountable and stopping these criminals from preying upon individuals and businesses.”