"Fake Passport Card Kingpin" Calvin Williams, 31, of Charlotte, North Carolina, has been sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for creating counterfeit U.S. passport cards and using them to obtain multiple lines of credit.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced the sentencing on Monday, with U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. handing down the sentence. Williams pleaded guilty on April 19, 2023, to passport forgery.
According to court documents and proceedings, Williams forged U.S. passport cards using the personal identifying information of victims of identity theft between late 2019 and May 2022. He used the fake passport cards to open multiple lines of credit with various retail and online stores, purchasing new iPhones and other electronic items. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized over 30 forged passport cards from Williams.
Wiliiams continued the fake passport card scheme after he was placed on state probation for convictions involving identity theft and obtaining property by false pretenses. The U.S. Secret Service, the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department investigated the case.
U.S. Attorney Dena J. King thanked the agencies involved in the investigation. "We appreciate the hard work and dedication of the U.S. Secret Service, the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department in bringing this case to justice," King said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick J. Miller prosecuted the case. If you are aware of, or have been a victim of, fraud associated with a U.S. passport or U.S. visa application, please contact PassportVisaFraud@state.gov. Williams is currently in custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
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Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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