BANGOR, Maine — A federal jury found a Bangor woman guilty of stealing the identity of a high-ranking U.S. Coast Guard official and using it to obtain credit cards.
Mary L. Landry, 43, was convicted Tuesday in U.S. District Court on three counts each of aggravated identity theft and wire fraud, two counts of Social Security fraud and fraud in connection with access devices.
The defendant and the victim, a rear admiral stationed at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, D.C., have the same first and last names but different middle names. The women are not related and their dates of birth and Social Security numbers are different.
Landry faces a mandatory minimum two-year sentence on the identity theft counts and up to 20 years on the most serious charges of wire fraud. She also faces a maximum fine of $250,000 and could be ordered to pay restitution to the credit card companies.
A sentencing date has not been set.
Landry maintains she is innocent and most likely will appeal the verdict, her attorney, Jon Haddow of Bangor, said Wednesday.
The jury of eight women and four men deliberated for about 90 minutes before returning a verdict around 6 p.m. Tuesday after two days of testimony, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney James Moore on Wednesday said much of the credit for the conviction goes to Special Agent Daniel Bradford of the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Services.
“He uncovered the crucial evidence that the defendant was the person who had filed the online application for the Chase Bank credit card,” Moore said Wednesday.
The prosecutor told the jury Monday in his opening statement that the defendant had access to the victim’s date of birth when she worked in collections at MBNA, now Bank of America, in Belfast from 2001 to 2003. At Verizon, now FairPoint, where Landry has worked as a customer serv-ice representative since 2003, she had access to the victim’s Social Security number, he said.
Haddow told the jury Monday that the identity switch most likely was the result of a computer error. He also said the defendant opened a Chase Bank Visa charge account using the Internet in April 2007, which she used for purchases and made payments on and had a balance of about $4,500 when it was closed about four months later when the identity theft was discovered.
He also said she applied for Discover and Fashion Bug cards, but they were declined because of discrepancies in the information provided and information that was in the firms’ computers.
Witnesses that specialize in fraud detection and operation of the Internet-based software that processes credit card applications testified that the online applications did not contain the Social Security number and date of birth the defendant claimed she submitted, the U.S Attorney’s Office said Wednesday in a news release.
In addition, a Bangor police officer testified that when he stopped Landry on a traffic violation last June, she lied about her identity. She gave him her sister’s name instead of her own, according to the police report filed in the case.
Landry was charged with operating a motor vehicle after suspension of her driver’s license, according to the report. She pleaded guilty in August in 3rd District Court in Bangor and paid a $250 fine, according to the Penobscot County District Attorney’s Office.
Information about why her license was suspended was not available Wednesday.
“This case sends a strong message that stealing the identity of another person and using the Internet to engage in credit card fraud will result in prosecution,” U.S. Attorney Paula Silsby said Wednesday.