Man Sentenced to 27 Months in Prison for Role in Identity Theft and Wire Fraud Conspiracy

NEWARK N.J. – A Georgia man was sentenced today to 27 months in prison for using fake driver’s licenses in order to obtain checks issued in response to false statements and representations, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Abdulrasheed Yusuf, 30, of Lilburn, Georgia, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden to an information charging him with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Judge Hayden imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Yusuf was a member of a conspiracy to obtain money fraudulently, including by committing identity theft, impersonating account holders and obtaining money from their accounts. On Aug. 8, 2017, a member of the conspiracy contacted an entity where an individual (Victim 1) had an account. The caller impersonated Victim 1 seeking to withdraw $34,636 from the victim’s account. The entity sent a check through a mail carrier to the account holder at caller’s address.

A member of the conspiracy caused the mail carrier to hold the packages containing the check for Victim 1 at one of its branch locations. On Aug. 14, 2017, Yusuf entered the branch and, using a driver’s license with Yusuf’s picture and Victim 1’s name and address, obtained a package he believed contained the check to Victim 1. Yusuf used a separate fake driver’s license in connection with obtaining a different check similarly issued in response to fraudulent statements.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Hayden sentenced Yusuf to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $46,425.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael C. Mikulka in New York, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake, Utah, under the direction of Sheriff Rosie Rivera, for its role in the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Kogan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.