Macedonia Woman Charged in Identity Theft and Fraudulent Credit Card Scheme

A grand jury returned a two-count indictment charging Sarah A. Fleming, age 35, of Macedonia, Ohio, with aggravated identity theft and fraud in relation to use of access devices, Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced today.

The indictment alleges that Fleming used the personal identifiers of 14 real people, including their Social Security numbers and dates of birth, to open 14 credit card accounts with Capital One. The indictment also alleges that Fleming then used those fraudulent credit cards to obtain things of value totaling more than $1,000.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Chelsea S. Rice, following investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.