A former government employee who stole the identities of more than three dozen people to commit over $240,000 in bank loan fraud was sentenced to more than 26 months in prison.
Keven Lee of Chula Vista was an employee at the Defense Contract Management Agency and obtained the identities of 37 people through an internal SharePoint website. According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Lee used his former position to gain access to the Top Secret, Sensitive Compartmentalized Information Clearance to access a website that contained personal identifying information of Department of Defense employees and contractors, among others.
Prosecutors said the fraud took place between September 2018 through September 2020 to defraud various companies using stolen identities to apply for and obtain loans. Lee accessed information which included social security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and forms relating to government employment.
According to the U.S. Attorney's office, Lee created fraudulent identification documents using the stolen information, including driver’s licenses and passports. He created and/or doctored paystubs, bank statements, and tax documents to support loan applications.
In order to qualify for more loan money, Lee fraudulently increased the salary reflected on some of the documents. Lee created false email accounts for some of the stolen identities and used various Google voice phone numbers to accomplish his fraud.
Prosecutors said that Lee used the money to pay personal debts and bills. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft counts earlier this year.
Lee’s attorney, David Silldorf, emphasized that the conduct did not result in financial losses to the 37 victims, but rather to the financial institutions involved.
Prosecutors said the loss to the banks was nearly $75,000, which Lee will have to pay back as restitution.
