LOS ANGELES – A Marina del Rey man, Kristopher Brent Cobb, 41, has been sentenced to 45 months in federal prison for a particularly callous crime: exploiting the deaths of a married couple to steal their identities and drain their bank accounts. Cobb fraudulently obtained more than $137,000 before being caught, adding insult to unimaginable injury for the victims’ surviving family.
The scheme unfolded in the wake of a horrific tragedy. On September 11, 2019, a man – identified as “Victim 1” in court documents – murdered his wife and son, attempted to kill his daughter, and then took his own life. Just two days later, Cobb, seemingly scavenging for opportunity in the news, began creating fraudulent email addresses in the names of the deceased couple. He didn’t wait for condolences; he waited for a chance to steal.
Cobb’s audacity was chilling. He used Victim 1’s cellphone number to add himself as an authorized user on a Capital One credit card. He attempted an $8,566 ATM withdrawal in Los Angeles using the stolen card. He impersonated Victim 1 at a cellphone store in Alhambra, securing a new phone linked to the deceased wife’s number and paying with Victim 1’s Citibank credit card. A key component of his scheme involved redirecting a replacement Barclays credit card to a post office box opened by an accomplice, all under the guise of the dead man.
The losses quickly mounted. Approximately $122,488 was fraudulently transferred from the couple’s TD Ameritrade account to purchase gold, shipped to addresses across Los Angeles. Cobb also racked up $16,450 in unauthorized purchases and ATM withdrawals using various of Victim 1’s credit cards, even making purchases in Puerto Rico. He further siphoned off roughly $3,200 from a Chase Bank savings account to fund an unauthorized check. The total damage exceeded $146,139, a sum stolen from a family reeling from unimaginable loss.
At sentencing, United States District Judge John F. Walter ordered Cobb to pay $137,573 in restitution, acknowledging the “immense grief” his actions caused to the surviving child of the victims. Prosecutors rightly described Cobb’s actions as “grotesque,” highlighting that the predation wasn’t simply about financial gain, but a calculated exploitation of a family at its most vulnerable moment. Cobb pleaded guilty in August 2022 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
The investigation was conducted by the United States Secret Service. Assistant United States Attorneys Roger A. Hsieh and Valerie L. Makarewicz of the Major Frauds Section secured the conviction and sentencing. This case serves as a grim reminder that even in death, individuals are not safe from predatory criminals like Kristopher Brent Cobb.
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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