Federal jury convicts Jacksonville man after identity theft, fraud scheme

A federal jury convicted a 52-year-old Jacksonville man this week of several charges stemming from an identity theft scheme that involved bank and Social Security fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Anthony Johnson is guilty of nine counts of aggravated identity theft, nine counts of bank fraud, seven counts of false representation of a Social Security number and three counts of mail fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

He faces up to 30 years in prison for each bank fraud offense, up to 20 years for each mail fraud offense and additional sentences for the other charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. A sentencing date has not been set.

Johnson was indicted in August 2016 after he was apprehended at the Orlando International Airport the month before, prosecutors said.

The scheme started in 2014 when Johnson falsely claimed to be a former member of the Army and used Social Security numbers to open a bank account, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He obtained a loan and multiple credit cards and then withdrew thousands of dollars from the United Services Automobile Association.

He later obtained two more loans totaling over $148,000 and had the money wired into a business account in the name of a false medical data company, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Johnson traveled to Dubai in the summer of 2016 and was arrested when he returned.

Joe Daraskevich: (904) 359-4308