Source: United States Attorneys General
Headline: Jamaican National Arrested for Aggravated Identity Theft
BOSTON – A Jamaican national was arrested last night for misuse of a Social Security number and aggravated identity theft.
Basil Ledgister, 41, was indicted on one count of misuse of a Social Security number and one count of aggravated identity theft. He will appear in federal court in Boston before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Jennifer C. Boal today at 2:45 p.m.
According to the indictment unsealed today, in January 2015, Ledgister falsely represented that a Social Security number belonging to another person was his in an application for a license at the Registry of Motor Vehicles. The indictment further alleges that Ledgister committed aggravated identity theft by using the Social Security number of another person in committing the crime of false representation of a Social Security number.
False representation of a Social Security number provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two-year sentence that must run consecutively to any other sentence, one year of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Michael Shea, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; William B. Gannon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Boston Field Office; Scott Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General; and Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rob Richardson of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.