Identity Thief Steele-Nelson Gets 8 Years

NORTH MIAMI BEACH, FL – Reginald Steele-Nelson, 28, of North Miami Beach, will spend the next eight years in federal prison after being sentenced today for a sprawling identity theft and unemployment insurance fraud scheme. The operation saw Steele-Nelson pilfer the personal information of over 90 victims, resulting in a staggering loss of over $1.1 million.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Wifredo A. Ferrer, alongside a coalition of federal and state agencies, announced the sentencing. The investigation involved the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; U.S. Secret Service; Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General; New York State Department of Labor; Florida Department of Economic Opportunity; and the North Miami Beach Police Department.

Court records reveal the scheme stretched from December 2013 through the summer of 2014. Steele-Nelson submitted fraudulent unemployment claims online, utilizing stolen personal identifying information (PII) – names and Social Security numbers – from his victims. A raid on Steele-Nelson’s residence on August 21, 2014, uncovered a trove of nearly two thousand pieces of unique PII, both inside the home and on his person. Investigators also discovered a credit card “skimmer,” a tool designed for creating counterfeit cards.

The scope of Steele-Nelson’s fraud wasn’t limited to unemployment benefits. He also filed fraudulent Social Security claims and illegally redirected legitimate benefits away from their rightful owners. The intended loss from his crimes totaled nearly $900,000, and the actual payouts during the scheme reached approximately $236,000, bringing the total loss attributed to Steele-Nelson to over $1,100,000. He targeted victims across Florida, New York, and Massachusetts.

Steele-Nelson previously pled guilty to one count of use of one or more unauthorized access devices to obtain $1,000 in value or more during one calendar year, one count of possession of fifteen or more unauthorized access devices, one count of possession of device making equipment, and three counts of aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams ordered Steele-Nelson to pay full restitution in the amount of $236,371.45. In addition to the 96-month prison sentence, Steele-Nelson will face three years of supervised release following his incarceration.

Ferrer praised the collaborative investigative work of the multiple agencies involved. Assistant United States Attorneys Ben Widlanski and Jamie R. Galvin prosecuted the case. Further information and court documents are available on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida website: http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov and http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.