An Atlanta woman could face up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty Friday to using a NBA player’s stolen identity to try to obtain a $2.5 million loan, authorities said.
Annie M. Ford, 51, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with the 2013 loan application, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey said in a news release.
From October to November that year, Ford tried to obtain the loan from a New York-based lending company using the stolen identity of a NBA player who lived in New Jersey, the release said. She admitted to creating fraudulent documents under the man’s name.
In addition, she forged the victim’s signature on multiple documents, including an escrow document that said the $2.5 million loan would be deposited in her bank account, the release said.
Another falsified signature appointed another person involved in the scheme to serve as the victim’s “attorney-in-fact” for banking and financial matters, the release said. That person’s name was not released.
A wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. An aggravated identity theft charge carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison, which must be served consecutively with any other prison term.
Ford’s sentencing is scheduled for March 4, 2020.
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