SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A federal grand jury returned a 10-count indictment against Reginald Lamont Thomas, 44, of Fairfield, charging him with bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, Thomas used a victim’s personally identifiable information to take over the victim’s checking and savings account and make various unauthorized transactions, including incurring $112,874 in debit card charges.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tanya B. Syed and Matthew Morris are prosecuting the case.
If convicted of bank fraud, Thomas faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. If convicted of aggravated identity theft, Thomas faces a mandatory statutory penalty of two years in prison consecutive to any other sentence imposed and a fine of up to $250,000. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
