Identity Thief Sentenced to 75 Months In Federal Prison

Benton, Ill. –Tamecia Buckley, 37, of Cahokia, Illinois, was sentenced today to 75 months in
federal prison on 7 fraud counts and 5 aggravated identity theft counts. Buckley pled guilty to the
charges in July and has been in federal custody since August 2019. She will serve a three-year term
of supervised release following her imprisonment on the fraud counts and a one-year term of
supervised release on the aggravated identity theft counts.

Documents in the case reveal that for about a five-year period, Buckley used the identities of real
people, some of whom were elderly females, without their permission to purchase a car, lease
cellular telephones (which she sold for cash), and activate utility services, causing losses over
$325,000. In sentencing Buckley, United States District Judge Staci M. Yandle acknowledged the
emotional harm aggravated identity theft victims experience, stating that many people “don’t
consider how serious it is.”

United States Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft praised the investigative work of the United States
Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Illinois State Police, the
Germantown Police Department, the Richmond Heights Police Department, the Fairview Heights Police
Department, and the Cahokia Police Department for their work in this investigation.

U.S. Attorney Weinhoeft also acknowledged that in 2018, 14.4 million Americans became identity
theft victims. 1 This averages out to about 1 out of every 15 Americans or a new victimization
every two seconds.2 “If you believe you have been a victim of identity theft, I encourage you to
contact your local police department and submit a report,” Weinhoeft said.

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1 See https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-identity-theft-and-cybercrime.
2 See https://clark.com/technology/theres-a-new-victim-of-identity-theft-every-two-seconds-heres-the-best-way-to- protect-yourself-online/.