A Carpentersville man has been charged with using other peoples’ identities to set up credit accounts, resulting in the loss of $500,000.
Keith “JD” Offord, 23, was indicted by a federal grand jury in December. The indictment was sealed until this week, when Offord was arrested. He appeared in the federal Central Illinois District court in Springfield on Tuesday and Friday.
The indictment alleges that from December 2013 to August 2015, Offord created false identification documents, including names, birth dates and Social Security numbers. He then added photographs of a “co-schemer” to the IDs, according to the indictment.
Offord would take the co-schemer to stores to obtain a credit account and credit card, and use it to purchase merchandise and gift cards. They did so at stores in Springfield and in the St. Louis area, including Saks Fifth Avenue, Brooks Brothers, Nordstroms, Best Buy, Sam’s Club, Macy’s, AT&T, Sprint, Bergner’s, Game Stop, Lowe’s and Sam’s Club.
According to the indictment, they completed more than 260 fraudulent transactions, resulting in a loss of more than $500,000.
He is charged with bank fraud, possession of 15 or more counterfeit or unauthorized access devices, and aggravated identity theft.
Offord had been charged in 2015 in McLean County with identity theft, drug possession and theft, but most of the charges were dropped or marked “dismissed/superseded by indictment,” according to the McLean County Circuit Court Clerk’s website.
Offord is on parole for a conviction of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in Cook County. He was paroled Feb. 14, and was supposed to be sent to live at a halfway house in Chicago, when federal agents arrested him. His federal public defender asked Friday that Offord be released to live in the halfway house, or with his aunt in Chicago, pending trial. She also said his stepfather has offered to get him a job at an Elgin die-cast company.
If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison for bank fraud and 10 years for access device fraud. If convicted of aggravated identity theft, the penalty is a mandatory two-year prison term, to be served consecutive to the sentence for the related fraud offense.
His next court date is April 4.
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