San Diego man sentenced for ID theft that took millions from military members

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A San Diego man was sentenced Thursday to nearly four years in federal prison for his role in a scheme that took millions of dollars from U.S. servicemembers by utilizing stolen identity information.

Trorice Crawford, 33, pleaded guilty last December to one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments for his part in facilitating the thefts of funds from thousands of military members' bank accounts.

U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia imposed a 46-month sentence and also ordered Crawford to pay $103,700 in restitution. He will also be placed on three years of supervised release after completing his prison term.

According to the Department of Justice, the scheme began when co-defendant Frederick Brown, 38, of Las Vegas, was working as a civilian medical records administrator at a U.S. Army installation in South Korea.

Prosecutors say that while logged into an Armed Forces database providing the names, social security numbers, DOD ID numbers, dates of birth and contact information of thousands of military members, Brown obtained the servicemembers' personal information and gave that information to one of his co-defendants.

Crawford's role involved recruiting at least 30 people who allowed the defendants to funnel the stolen funds into their bank accounts, according to the Department of Justice. He also oversaw transfers of the money to co-defendants overseas.

For his part, Crawford took a percentage of the stolen funds. The DOJ said the defendants took between $8,000 to $13,000 from each victim.

Brown has also pleaded guilty and is slated for a September sentencing, while three other defendants are in custody in the Philippines and are awaiting extradition to the United States on charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.