DALLAS—A Waco, Texas, resident, Christopher Scott Gant, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to 37 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $110,344.00 in restitution to TXU Energy following his guilty plea in February 2015 to an indictment charging one count of wire fraud. He must surrender to the Bureau of Prison on August 18, 2015. John Parker, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, made today’s announcement.

According to documents filed in the case, beginning in early 2012 and continuing to February 2013, Gant, 58, ran a scheme to set up fraudulent utility accounts with TXU Energy. At the time of the scheme, TXU’s policy was to give electricity account holders a grace period to remedy delinquent payments before disconnecting power. As part of his scheme, before the grace period ended, Gant would call TXU customer service centers located outside of Texas. He then used more than 200 stolen Social Security numbers to set up more than 600 new fraudulent accounts. The residents would continue to receive electricity without paying TXU. Gant received payment from the residents to execute this scheme.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon McCarthy prosecuted.