Forty-six year old Kenneth Gilbert Gibson of Reno Nevada opened 8,000 fraudulent accounts in a scam for the ages.
His accounts included fraudulently opened PayPal credit accounts, bank accounts, and prepaid credit and debit card accounts he created with stolen identities.
After opening the 8,000 accounts, he used the accounts to transfer, $3.5 million to himself via checks electronic transactions to about 500 bank accounts and pre-paid debit cards owned and under his control.
In court yesterday, he pleaded innocent of all the charges. But he could be in trouble if he is convicted.
He now faces over 60 years in prison for his alleged crimes. He was arrested after a massive investigation by over 4 different law enforcement agencies; the Reno Police Department, the FBI, the Secret Service, the IRS and the Postal Inspection Service.
If convicted, the defendant faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the wire fraud and mail fraud counts; a statutory maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine for the bank fraud counts; a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the access device fraud counts; and a statutory maximum penalty of two years in prison for the aggravated identity theft counts.
There are not many details available publically yet but I am fascinated to learn how a guy can open 8,000 fraudulent accounts and not get discovered earlier!
