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Press Release

Bucks County Man Sent Back To Prison For Committing Fraud While Behind Bars

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania

 

PHILADELPHIA - Robert Joseph Whiteman, Jr., 38, of Levittown, Pennsylvania was sentenced today to 95 months in prison for committing bank fraud and aggravated identity theft while serving a prison sentence for a similar fraud scheme. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Gerald J. Pappert ordered five years of supervised release, restitution in the amount of $67,834.06, and a $500 special assessment. 

 

In 2006, Whiteman was sentenced to 10 years in prison for bank fraud. While serving that sentence, between 2010 and 2012, Whiteman obtained and attempted to obtain credit in his name and the names of others under false pretenses. Whiteman frequently did this by causing false credit card applications to be submitted in his name and the names of fellow inmates. Whiteman also caused female associates to be included as authorized users for these cards. After the cards were approved, Whiteman caused these female accomplices to use the credit cards to make charges and to take cash advances. When the conspirators reached the cards’ limit, Whiteman caused fraudulent payments to be made on the credit cards, temporarily and falsely increasing the cards’ available credit. Whiteman and his accomplices then resumed their fraud. Moreover, even after the banks and credit card companies stopped allowing Whiteman to make additional charges, he continued to defraud these financial institutions. Whiteman generally wrote fraudulent letters to the institutions falsely claiming that the charges were unauthorized in order to cause the institutions to forgive the charges. In addition, Whiteman submitted false tax returns and fictitious police reports to the financial institutions in order to advance his scheme. His fraud caused over $65,000 in actual losses to his victims and attempted to cause approximately $165,000 more. One of these victims was his own father.

 

Furthermore, while awaiting sentencing on the most recent charges, Whiteman, again, tried to continue his fraud from the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

 

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick J. Murray.

Updated March 1, 2016

Topic
Financial Fraud