Men get prison for ID theft, including Modesto van purchase and Target debit card

Two men have each been sentenced to five years in federal prison for an identity fraud scheme, which included the purchase of a $39,000 van from a Modesto dealership.

Derek Hillgert, 29, of Carmichael and Jeffrey Wilhite, 31, of Linden in October pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft, possessing stolen mail and committing access device fraud.

Hillgert and Wilhite were sentenced in federal court last week, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento. Federal prosecutors said Hillgert and Wilhite stole mail and used the identifying information to conduct fraudulent transactions.

A federal grand jury indicted the two men in June. When the defendants were arrested, they had more than 200 pieces of stolen mail belonging to more than 100 victims, according to the news release. The prosecutors said the defendants conducted their scheme in Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Sacramento counties.

Wilhite helped Hillgert use a stolen identity to create a phony driver’s license but with Hilgert’s photograph, the prosecutors said. Hillgert then used the fake license to obtain a loan in the identity theft victim’s name to buy the $39,000 van.

The prosecutors also said that Wilhite obtained a Target store debit card account using another stolen identity, and the defendants made purchases of more than $3,000 with it.

This story was originally published March 4, 2019 at 3:11 PM.