47-year-old Kenneth Gilbert Gibson from Reno pleaded guilty on Thursday for his involvement in a $3.5 million fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Dayle Elieson for the District of Nevada.
In a statement released to the press, the Department of Justice says that Gibson used stolen identities to create more than 8,000 fraudulent online accounts as part of the scheme, which took place between 2012 and 2017.
Gibson obtained the identities through an unnamed database in Reno. After obtaining the information, he would use it to open online accounts, credit accounts, bank accounts, and prepaid cards. He would then use those accounts to send $3.5 million to himself through hard copy checks and electronic transactions to about 500 bank accounts and pre-paid debit cards owned and under his control.
The Department of Justice also says that Gibson admitted to not including approximately $1,049,070 of taxable income received from the fraud scheme in his tax return for 2013.
Gilbert faces a combined maximum of 25 years in prison and up to $500,000 from fines. That includes 20 years and a $250,000 fine for wire fraud and mail fraud, three years and a $250,000 fine for filing a false tax return, and two years in prison for aggravated identity theft.
The case is being jointly investigated by a Task Force consisting of the FBI, United States Secret Service, the IRS, United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Reno Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carla B. Higginbotham is prosecuting the case.
If you have become a victim of identity theft, you can report it to the Federal Trade Commission online at www.identitytheft.gov or by phone at 1-877-438-4338.
