United States v. Miller

Miller obtained identifying information for several individuals without their knowledge or consent, which he used to open credit card accounts; he opened UPS mailboxes under the victims’ names to receive the cards, which he used to withdraw cash from ATMs. Miller also used personal identifying information to submit 600 fraudulent claims and obtain unemployment insurance benefits from the Texas Workforce Commission. Miller was charged with both schemes. After releasing him on bond, the court discovered Miller stole $13,750 from the correctional facility where he was detained. Miller fled to and was later found, in the Dominican Republic. Miller eventually pleaded guilty to mail fraud affecting a financial institution, 18 U.S.C. 1341, and aggravated identity theft, 18 U.S.C. 1028A(a)(1). The Seventh Circuit affirmed in part, rejecting arguments that the indictment failed to specify proper means of identification of the victims and that the court improperly applied two points to his criminal history calculation for committing the charged crimes while under a criminal justice sentence. Miller possessed over 200 means of identification in a single notebook, used to carry out a common scheme and can only be convicted of one violation each of sections 1028(a)(7) and 1028A(a)(1), which criminalize the knowing possession of “a means of identification of another person” View "United States v. Miller" on Justia Law