Martins Tochukwu Chidiobi, Identity Theft, Indiana 2019

INDIANAPOLIS — A pair of former correctional officers has been sentenced to prison for using inmates’ stolen identities in an international fraud scheme.

Martins Tochukwu Chidiobi, 34, and Lawrence Onyesonwu, 38, of Muncie, have each been sentenced to three years in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release and payment of a $5,000 fine, after pleading guilty to aggravated identity theft and making false statements to a financial institution, according to a federal indictment.

Between on or about 2015 and their arrest date in January 2019, Chidiobi and Onyesonwu worked as correctional officers at the New Castle Correctional Facility, a privately managed prison within the Indiana Department of Corrections.

During that time, Chidiobi and Onyesonwu stole at least five inmates’ personally identifiable information, including names, dates of birth, and social security numbers. The defendants used the stolen identities of the victim inmates to open at least nine accounts at various Indiana banks using fraudulent passports. The fraudulent passports were purportedly issued by Nigeria, Liberia, and Ghana, and included pictures of the defendants, but the names and other information of the identity theft victims.

The accounts opened by the defendants with the stolen identities were then used to receive the proceeds of broader fraud schemes. A total of at least $331,282 was deposited into the defendants’ fraudulent bank accounts from at least 11 sources. Investigators worked to identify and contact individuals who deposited funds into fraudulent accounts. Of the eleven depositors able to be identified, each was themselves the victim of a ‘romance scam’ or other fraud scheme.

According to U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers, the case highlights the FBI’s resolve to investigate and prosecute those who exploit their authority for personal gain.

The sentences were imposed by U.S. District Judge James P. Hanlon. U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tiffany J. Preston and Corbin D. Houston, who prosecuted this case.