DELRAY BEACH, FL – Jeffrey Emil Groover, 53, formerly of Delray Beach, is staring down the barrel of a lengthy federal sentence after a jury convicted him on all six counts related to a brazen identity theft and bank fraud scheme. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida announced the guilty verdict today, marking Groover’s third confirmed instance of defrauding victims through stolen identities.
The jury found Groover guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud (Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 1349), three counts of bank fraud (Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 1344), and two counts of aggravated identity theft (Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 1028A). Sentencing is scheduled for September 3, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Dimitrouleas. Prosecutors are seeking a stiff penalty, with Groover potentially facing up to 20 years for the conspiracy and each bank fraud count, plus a mandatory consecutive two-year sentence for the aggravated identity theft charges – a potential total of 42 years behind bars.
The latest case detailed how Groover pilfered the personal identifying information (PII) of an unsuspecting woman to open checking accounts at both TD Bank and PNC Bank. He didn’t just open the accounts; he forged the signature card at TD Bank and presented a crudely altered Florida Driver’s License – a “photo-switched” document featuring his own picture on the victim’s credentials. At PNC, he leveraged the fraudulent debit card from TD Bank and the fake ID to establish overdraft protection linked to the victim’s home equity line of credit. Between September 27th and 30th, 2013, Groover and his accomplices siphoned off approximately $170,000 from the victim’s line of credit, cashing a $20,000 check directly from the account.
This conviction isn’t an isolated incident. On April 18, 2014, U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenbaum sentenced Groover to 60 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered him to pay $350,373.86 in restitution for a separate identity theft tax refund fraud scheme. He had previously pled guilty to making false claims to the IRS (Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 287). Judge Rosenbaum specifically handed down a sentence *above* the guideline range, citing Groover’s extensive criminal history and the fact that he was arrested for *another* identity theft crime while already on bond awaiting sentencing in this case.
The judge’s frustration was palpable. She pointedly noted that Groover, during a 46-month stint in prison in 2004 for identity theft, had actually testified before the Senate Special Committee on Aging, detailing how easily identity theft could be committed online and promising a life change. “His 46-month sentence had not deterred Groover from committing new crimes,” the judge stated, justifying the increased penalty. Apparently, a lesson wasn’t learned.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer and Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge of IRS-CI, praised the investigative work. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adrienne Rabinowitz and Alexandra Hui. Grimy Times will continue to follow this case and report on the sentencing in September. A full press release can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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