ALEXANDRIA, La. (KLFY) – A Louisiana man has been sentenced after using a stolen identity to buy a Chevrolet Silverado.
Robert Lee Daniel, III, of Alexandria, was sentenced to 65 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office Western District of Louisiana.
Daniel was also ordered to pay $45,512.97 in restitution to the victims.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that in Dec. 2020, Daniel downloaded LA Wallet, a digital driver’s license mobile application, onto his phone. He then obtained the license information of A.S.M., who Daniel knew to be a real person, and used the information to obtain a digital copy of A.S.M.’s driver’s license on LA Wallet.
In Jan. 2021, Daniel used the digital license of A.S.M. to open an account at Cenla Federal Credit Union. Again posing as A.S.M., he then applied for and obtained a $41,844.45 loan through Cenla Federal Credit Union to purchase a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Daniel also stated on the application that he was employed by Banker Hughes and had an annual income of $78,000 while posing as A.S.M.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that nine other victims were identified in Daniel’s fraud scheme. He was also on probation in three different parishes for committing bank fraud at the time of his offense.
“This is a great example of federal law enforcement agencies partnering with our local partners to pursue justice for these victims. Although these are typically known as nonviolent crimes, the actions of this defendant are inherently dangerous to the community because they violate privacy interests and take advantage of the state’s technological advances. For these reasons, we are pleased with this sentence,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.