CHARLOTTE, NC – Four members of a sophisticated identity theft ring that stretched across North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia have been sentenced to federal prison, authorities announced Tuesday. The crew pilfered the lives of at least 40 individuals, racking up over $450,000 in fraudulent purchases and services.
U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney handed down the harshest sentence to Dayton Louis Kolczak, 29, of Charlotte, sentencing him to 71 months behind bars. Kolczak, the ring’s apparent ID-maker, also received three years of supervised release. He previously pleaded guilty to bank and wire fraud conspiracy, and aggravated identity theft. Heather Westerfield, 37, also of Charlotte, received 57 months in prison, plus three years of supervision, for the same charges.
The scheme, active between October 2018 and September 2019, involved stealing personal identification information (PII) through a variety of low-tech and online methods – snatching mail, scraping data from real estate listings, and mining public records. But the real ingenuity lay in Kolczak’s ability to create counterfeit North Carolina and South Carolina driver’s licenses. He didn’t bother with photos of the victims; he used pictures of his co-conspirators, effectively putting their faces on stolen identities.
The fraudulent IDs allowed the ring to open credit card accounts at major retail chains like Lowe’s, Belk Department Stores, Kohl’s, and Target. They weren’t just buying flat-screen TVs either. The co-conspirators used the stolen identities to rent luxury vehicles, book hotel rooms, and lease storage units – a full-service fraud operation. Kenneth D. Bennett-Rosario, 45, of Charlotte, received 39 months in prison for his role in the aggravated identity theft, while Jessica Bailey Sowell, 28, also of Charlotte, will spend 24 months incarcerated for the same offense.
Law enforcement seized a mini-factory of fraud during the investigation: printers, laptop computers, an embossing machine, and a laminator. The operation was a joint effort between the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) and the U.S. Secret Service, which officials tout as a “fully integrated partnership” to combat organized crime. The unit’s success, they claim, is due to leveraging “local and federal resources” to target the most damaging criminal organizations.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael E. Savage prosecuted the case. While the sentences offer some measure of justice to the victims whose lives were compromised, the case serves as a grim reminder of the relentless ingenuity of identity thieves and the ongoing need for vigilance in protecting personal information. The Secret Service continues to investigate related activity, looking for other players who may have benefitted from this widespread fraud.
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Key Facts
- Agency: U.S. Secret Service
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Press Release
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