Gregg County Man Sentenced for Identity Theft Scheme
| U.S. Attorney’s Office January 29, 2013 |
TYLER, TX—A 39-year-old Longview, Texas man has been sentenced to federal prison for federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Benjamin Rojas pleaded guilty on October 9, 2012, to conspiracy to commit identity theft and was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Schneider. Rojas was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $20,293.93.
According to information presented in court, from January to May 2012, Rojas conspired with others to possess and use false identification documents and means of identification of others unlawfully. The scheme involved stealing mail from mailboxes in East Texas and using the information from the stolen mail to produce false Texas driver licenses, which appeared to be actual Texas temporary driver licenses. The fictitious driver licenses were used for identification when passing stolen checks, as well as counterfeit and forged checks, at various businesses in East Texas.
Co-defendant, Robin Watkins is scheduled to be sentenced on March 7, 2013.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, the Tyler Police Department, the Tyler Police Department, and the Longview Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel C. Kummerfeld.