Source: Office of United States Attorneys
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Damond Alford (31, Tampa) guilty of trafficking in unauthorized access devices and aggravated identity theft. Alford faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for the trafficking offense followed by an additional two-year mandatory consecutive sentence for the aggravated identity theft offense. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, officers from the Tampa Police Department stopped Alford twice in August 2020. During those traffic stops, law enforcement searched Alford’s vehicle and discovered debit cards in other individuals’ names and a ledger containing personal identifying information of others. An investigation by the Department of Labor reveled that the personal identifying information on the ledger had been used to apply for unemployment insurance benefits throughout the country on at least 57 occasions. Debit cards containing unemployment insurance benefits were then mailed to Alford and, on several occasions, he used those debit cards to withdraw thousands of dollars. In total, more than $300,000 in fraudulent unemployment insurance payments were attributed to Alford.
This case was investigated by the Tampa Police Department and the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Candace Garcia Rich.