A Forest Park woman who spent time in prison for identity fraud was headed back to prison for a similar federal crime after being sentenced Tuesday.
A federal judge in Atlanta sentenced Lisa Lee, 51, to 10 years for aggravated identity theft, bank fraud and conspiracy.
U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said Lee victimized about 20 individuals by “hijacking” their corporate identities to obtain $1 million in loans, lines of credit and other services.
After a 2004 fraud conviction and spending 18 months in prison, Lee was released in 2006 only to face similar charges again in 2008.
According to prosecutors and court testimony, Lee used defunct and inactive Georgia companies to obtain loans and lines of credit and then was paid for her services.
The woman first filed with the secretary of state’s office registration documents that are required of active companies operating Georgia, prosecutors said.
She recruited others to serve as corporate officers for the businesses. She also created mailing and email addresses for the companies and opened bank accounts to make them appear to be active.
Lee also provided false financial statements, tax returns and other company data to a business credit information company used by creditors in determining whether to issue loans or lines of credit.
Once the businesses were set up, Lee applied for loans and lines of credit for the companies. She received about $1 million in new loans and lines of credit, prosecutors said.
For her services, Lee received a fee for setting up the businesses and obtaining the loans and lines of credit. Individuals recruited by Lee as company officers also received payments.
Lee was convicted Aug. 17, 2011 after pleading guilty. In addition to the 10-year sentence, Lee received five years of supervised released and she was ordered to pay $561,019 in restitution.
“Lee’s persistent fraudulent conduct demanded the lengthy sentence imposed on her today,” said Yates, the federal prosecutor.
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