WASHINGTON, March 7 (UPI) -- The leader of a ring that stole hundreds of identities of government employees and others was sentenced to 12 years in prison, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Jenaro Blalock, 31, of Clinton, Md., who pleaded guilty last year to stealing at least 600 identifications and causing more than $1 million in losses, also will serve three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay full restitution to the victims, Justice Department officials said in a release.
Court documents indicated that between June 2011 and July 2013, Blalock and co-leader Christopher Bush recruited women who could access identity data through their employers to steal more than 600 identities, mainly from the State Department, the Pentagon and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Blalock and members of the ID ring used the information to create fake driver's licenses, open credit lines at retailers and obtain rental cars that frequently were sold on the black market with altered vehicle identification numbers, documents indicated.
Information provided at sentencing indicated the ring caused victim losses of between $1 million and $2.5 million, the Justice Department said.
In January, Bush was sentenced to serve 10 years in prison for his role in the scheme.
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