A 28-year-old man from Detroit has been sentenced to three to 20 years for conducting a criminal enterprise.
Johnny Richardson used people’s cellphone account information and transferred it to burner phones. He then used the dark web identity information to hack into victims’ bank accounts and set up two-factor authentication with the burner phones.
Recommended Videos
Richardson and members of his enterprise would then empty victims’ bank accounts or take out loans in their names, routing the money through several bank accounts.
They would also have banks send them checks from the victim’s accounts and then intercept the mailed checks delivered to the unsuspecting victims’ homes.
The 28-year-old man is serving eight years for operating an unemployment fraud scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has levied court costs, crime victim fees, and financial restitution of $309,210.
“Identity theft constitutes a serious crime that can have devastating impacts on someone’s finances, economic security, and sense of personal privacy for a lifetime, and an operation like this warrants a significant sentence,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. “I appreciate the collaboration of the USPS with my team to bring down this criminal enterprise, and I am extremely pleased with all their hard work.”
Richardson’s criminal enterprise netted over $309,000, with investigators seizing over $100,000 in jewels, cash, and shoes.
The 28-year-old agreed to forfeit the property purchased with the stolen funds to offset the amount of restitution that he owes.
Richardson’s primary co-conspirator, Delajuan Harris, pleaded guilty to one count of conducting a criminal enterprise and has been sentenced to one year in jail with three years probation and restitution.
Harris will be sent to Alabama to face additional charges related to mail theft crimes.
