Fairfield man pleads guilty to bank fraud and identity theft, faces up to 30 years in prison
FAIRFIELD (BCN) – After pleading guilty to nine counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, a Fairfield man could be sentenced to 30 years in prison, federal prosecutors announced this week.
Reginald Lamont Thomas, 47, used a victim's personal identification information to take over the victim's checking and savings accounts at Wells Fargo between April and September of 2018, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California.
Thomas convinced representatives at Wells Fargo to change the address information of the victim to an address associated with himself and to then ship a new debit card to him. Thomas then used that debit card to make various unauthorized transactions, including buying a used car at a Solano County dealership and paying for the dating service Plenty of Fish. In total, Thomas racked up $112,874 in debit card charges, prosecutors said.
Thomas was already on a term of federal supervised release during his crimes. Court records show that he has two prior arrests for driving under the influence and a criminal history of possession of a loaded firearm and domestic violence.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 25 and is facing up to 30 years in prison for the bank fraud charges and two years for identity theft. He is also facing fines adding up to $1.25 million, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.