Florida Man Gets Five Years in Prison for Identity Theft

Andrew Ware, 27, of Lauderhill, Fla., was recently sentenced to 70 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for his involvement in a stolen identity refund fraud (SIRF) and access device fraud scheme.

Ware previously pled guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

His co-defendants Alex Dontfred, 29, David Tilus, 27, Sherika Rowe, 20, Fritznel Etienne, 24, and Latonya Ware, 27, were previously sentenced to 46 months, 70 months, 45 months, 34 months and 34 months in prison, respectively. All five were also ordered to pay restitution.

According to court documents, Latonya Ware worked at a medical office, where she stole patients’ names and Social Security numbers. She then provided the stolen data to Tilus and to Andrew Ware, her cousin. Rowe used the information to file fraudulent tax returns seeking refunds, which were loaded onto prepaid debit cards used by Tilus and by Andrew Ware. The total of the fraudulent refunds claimed was $137,132.

Andrew Ware, Tilus, Dontfred and Etienne, along with co-defendant Jaqwayn Henry, also used victims’ access devices to purchase merchandise. They obtained credit card numbers from victims, then used the stolen access devices to purchase merchandise, gift cards, and prepaid debit cards valued at more than $61,000.