Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Howard Hoffman, 53, formerly of Richmond, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Chief Judge Nancy Torresen to one year and one day in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release for bank fraud. Hoffman pleaded guilty on April 15, 2016.
According to court records, in March 2007, Hoffman’s childhood friend died while in Costa Rica. Over a year later, Hoffman used his deceased friend’s personal identifying information to gain access to the friend’s bank account and change the address on the account to his residence in Richmond. Over the next few weeks, Hoffman caused two checks, totaling approximately $80,000, to be issued from his friend’s account. Hoffman deposited the checks into a bank account of a company he controlled. Hoffman did not have authority to access the account or cause the bank to issue the two checks.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Secret Service.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
