Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr., U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan | Department of Justice
A Dearborn Heights resident has been sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison for his involvement in multiple fraud schemes that resulted in losses totaling $1.2 million, according to an announcement from United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr.
Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Runyan of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Detroit Field Division joined Gorgon in making the announcement.
Joseph Miller, age 53, received a sentence of 129 months after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Court records show that Miller has a history of criminal activity with 18 prior felony convictions.
Miller participated in three separate fraudulent operations. In one scheme, he used stolen identities to open charge accounts under victims’ names and made $912,000 worth of unauthorized purchases at two retailers. In another instance, Miller and others used stolen identities to secure approximately $172,000 in fraudulent loans from a financial institution. The third scheme involved submitting false Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications for several businesses; EIDL is a program managed by the Small Business Administration intended to provide low-interest loans to small businesses affected by disasters. Through this effort, Miller and his associates obtained nearly $204,000 in relief funds.
United States District Judge Mark A. Goldsmith handed down the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Wyse prosecuted the case while Assistant United States Attorney Kelly Fasbinder handled related forfeiture and restitution matters.
