James T. Jacks
Acting United States Attorney
Northern District of Texas

RINGLEADER IN ID THEFT AND STOLEN UNEMPLOYMENT
BENEFITS SCHEME SENTENCED TO NEARLY 12 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON

DALLAS — Lonnie Oliver, Jr., was sentenced Friday by Chief U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to 139 months in federal prison for his role in an identity theft scheme in which he and others fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits, announced acting U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. In addition, Judge Fitzwater ordered that Oliver, 40, of Dallas, pay $119,236 restitution. Oliver has been in federal custody since he was arrested on related charges in mid-November 2007.

Oliver pled guilty in July 2008 to one count of mail fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, admitting that he and co-defendant Albert Henson, Jr., and others, devised and executed a scheme to fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance benefits from the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). Henson, 38 of Seagoville, Texas, pled guilty to the same offenses and was sentenced in August to a total of 70 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $102,727.

Oliver and Henson would obtain names, social security numbers and birth dates of individuals without those individuals’ knowledge and apply for unemployment insurance benefits under their identities without their knowledge or authority. Oliver and Henson would provide additional information to the TWC such as fake last employing units (LEUs) and LEU addresses that they and their associates controlled. They provided the TWC with claimant mailing addresses that they and their associates controlled and received and used the debit cards that contained the unemployment benefits at ATMs to withdraw money for their own personal benefit and for the benefit of their associates.

Others involved in the scheme have pled guilty to their role and have been sentenced. All were ordered to pay restitution.

The case was investigated by the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Texas Workforce Commission. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tammy Reno, who is now First Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Texas. After Ms. Reno’s departure from the Northern District of Texas, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Buie continued the prosecution and secured additional convictions.

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