Kane County Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for $600,000 Bank Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough today sentenced a Carpentersville, Ill., man, Keith JD Offord, to 12 years in prison for a bank fraud scheme that used identities stolen from the dark web to defraud businesses, including several Springfield businesses, of more than $600,000. Offord, 25, was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $600,549.

On Feb. 8, 2018, a jury convicted Offord for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Evidence presented by the government showed that from December 2013 to August 2015, Offord used others’ identities to create false identification documents which were used at retail stores to obtain credit accounts and to buy merchandise and gift cards. Among the businesses Offord defrauded were Bergner’s, Game Stop, and Sam’s Club in Springfield. Offord used more than 70 stolen identities, primarily of chiropractors, that he obtained from the dark web. Stolen identifiers included dates of birth, social security numbers, addresses, passwords to email accounts and mothers’ maiden names.

Offord has been in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since Jan. 9, 2018, when U.S. Magistrate Judge Tom Schanzle-Haskins revoked his bond. The petition to revoke Offord’s bond alleged that Offord attempted to commit bank fraud on or about Nov. 1, 2017, when he attempted to obtain a loan to purchase a 2011 Jaguar XJ automobile. Offord allegedly presented false information to a credit union, including a fraudulent social security number which was assigned to an 11-year-old boy in Idaho, fraudulent employment and salary information, a fraudulent driver’s license, and fraudulent documents to confirm his address.

The Illinois State Police conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory M. Gilmore and Matthew Z. Weir prosecuted the case.