KANSAS CITY, MO-Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a former detective with the Joplin, Mo., Police Department has pleaded guilty in federal court to a wire fraud scheme in which he used his law enforcement access to steal the identity of another person.
Joshua D. Myers, 31, of Carterville, Mo., waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge James C. England on Monday, Nov. 14, 2011, to a federal information that charges him with wire fraud.
Myers admitted that, while employed as a detective with the Joplin police department, he used his law enforcement access to Missouri Department of Revenue computers to locate another individual with the name Joshua Myers and to find that person's date of birth, Social Security number and other identifying information.
Using the stolen identity information, Myers applied for and received credit cards and student loans, including two student loans totaling $13,821, credit cards from Kay Jewelers, Target, Capital One and Citibank, and a GE Money PayPal credit account.
Myers made payments on some of the accounts, but defaulted on a student loan and two credit cards for a loss of $6,727.
According to today's plea agreement, the crime was discovered when Myers defaulted on a $6,000 student loan he obtained from JP Morgan Chase on Nov. 20, 2007. Chase attempted to contact the university, and learned that no one with the date of birth and Social Security number listed on the loan application had attended the university. However, Myers had provided an accurate address, and law enforcement investigations were able to determine that he attended the university and had given false information to obtain the loan. An FBI agent interviewed Myers on Sept. 16, 2010.
Myers pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud related to the Chase student loan.
Under federal statutes, Myers is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000 and an order of restitution. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Milligan. It was investigated by the FBI.
Copyright 2011 Federal Information and News Dispatch, Inc.
