From the Madison, WI, Capital Times:

A Madison man who posed as a BBC reporter to verify personal information about a young man with Down Syndrome from his mother and then fraudulently obtained credit cards and an auto loan in the son’s name pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to identify theft.

J. Richard Outhier, 37, admitted to using an “identity broker” in 2006 to get the name of a Boston woman active in Down Syndrome awareness. Then, under the guise of interviewing her for a story, Outhier verified her son’s birth date and Social Security number, which he had obtained from the broker.

Using the son’s personal information and duplicate copies of his birth certificate, Outhier obtained a Social Security number and then credit cards from U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo Bank. He also obtained a Wells Fargo loan to purchase a 1999 Saab in January 2007, said Assistant U. S. Attorney David Reinhard.

Losses to the banks were approximately $27,000, said Reinhard. Outhier faces maximum statutory penalties of 62 years in prison and restitution.

See earlier post here.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 8th, 2008 at 12:14 pm and is filed under Down syndrome, NOT2BEMISSED, criminal justice, intellectual/developmental disabilities. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Email This Post