Tampa Man Sentenced To More Than Eleven Years In Federal Prison For Fraud, Identity Theft, And Firearms Offenses

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore has sentenced Larry Chance Cox (37, Tampa) to seven years in federal prison for conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. The judge ordered that he serve 54 months of his sentence consecutively to the 87-month term of incarceration that U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell sentenced him to last week for being a felon in possession of firearms. Between the two cases, Cox has been sentenced to a total of 11 years and 9 months in federal prison. He pleaded guilty in January 2017.

According to court documents, Cox’s coconspirator, Anthony Harris, worked as an administrative employee at a pediatric gastroenterology practice where he had access to patient medical records containing the personally identifiable information (“PII”) of the practice’s patients, their parents, and their guardians. Cox directed Harris to steal the PII from his employer so that he, along with Maurice Rahmaan and others, could use the information to apply for credit cards online and to file fraudulent federal income tax returns. The conspirators further agreed to share in the proceeds of the credit card and tax fraud. Investigators recovered the PII of more than 13,000 individuals from Cox’s bedroom. In addition to applying for scores of unauthorized credit cards, the conspirators also attempted to file approximately 180 fraudulent federal income tax returns using the PII.

When law enforcement officers searched Cox’s residence in April 2015, they recovered an AK-47 assault rifle, a Mossberg 500 12-guage shotgun, a stolen Maverick model 88 12-guage shotgun, and a stolen Remington model 710 .243 gauge shotgun. At the time, Cox was a convicted felon and therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

Anthony Harris pleaded guilty to conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. On March 29, 2017, he was sentenced to six years in federal prison. Maurice Rahmaan pleaded guilty to conspiracy and aggravated identity theft on January 24, 2017, and he is scheduled to be sentenced on April 10, 2017.

This case was investigated by the Tampa Police Department, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mandy Riedel.