A 16-count indictment was unsealed charging three people for their roles in a conspiracy to steal people’s identities and personal information to obtain stolen or unauthorized credit cards to buy electronics, clothing, appliances and other items.
Indicted are: Terrance Carter, 25; Carrie Gibson, 30, and Angelina Carter, 24. The charges include conspiracy, mail fraud and aggravated identity theft.
The defendants stole mail from mailboxes and vehicles to obtain personal identifying information, including social security numbers, driver’s license numbers and credit card information, according to the indictment.
They used this information to create lists that included the victims’ addresses, dates of birth, bank information and other information. They used this information to obtain things of value for themselves or to resell, according to the indictment.
For example, Terrance Carter purchased a gold bar with a credit account issued to a victim in January 2016. In March 2017, the defendants used an unauthorized Lowe’s credit card to purchase $1,225 in merchandise from the Lowe’s on Airport Highway in Toledo. A month later, Angelina Carter and Gibson used a stolen credit card to purchase $285 worth of goods from a Walmart on West Central Avenue, according to the indictment.
This conspiracy occurred between 2015 and 2017, according to the indictment.
The investigation is ongoing.
If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the Court after reviewing factors unique to this case, including the defendants’ prior criminal records, if any, the defendants’ role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
The investigating agencies in this case are the Toledo Police Department, Sylvania Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service. The case is being handled by Assistant U.S Attorneys Jody L. King and Robert N. Melching.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Defendants are entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
