Charged with Fraud, Identity Theft, and Obstruction

MONROE, LA—United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that Michael Karl Davis, 47, of Monroe, La., was arrested today on charges of computer fraud, identity theft, and obstruction. Davis is a major with the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office. He works in the IT department.

The indictment, filed on September 28, 2011, alleges that Davis illegally accessed a computer used in interstate commerce without authorization on nine occasions from April 2010 to October 2010. The indictment also alleges that Davis committed the crime of identity theft by improperly accessing an AOL e-mail address and password belonging to another person and committed obstruction of justice by reformatting and installing a new operating system on a computer after he learned of an ongoing FBI investigation.

If convicted, Davis faces maximum potential penalties of one year in prison, a $100,000 fine, or both for each of the computer crime charges, and five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both for each of the identity theft and the obstruction charges.

An indictment is merely an accusation and all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Monroe Resident Agency, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney C. Mignonne Griffing.