Politics & Government

Pair Who Allegedly Stole Identities Plead Guilty

Man and his girlfriend, both of Woodlawn, plead guilty to conspiring to commit fraud and aggravated identity theft against hundreds of people in 2009.

Two Woodlawn residents have pleaded guilty to passing counterfeit checks written from the accounts of more than 250 people, including doctors who applied for fellowships at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

It was 2009 when Derrick Hill, 52, and his girlfriend Renee Cabell, 51, "conspired with their co-defendants John Coffey and Tawney King to negotiate counterfeit checks drawn on victim bank accounts," according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland.

Coffey and King pleaded guilty earlier to the same charges.

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"The defendants obtained cash, merchandise and services worth over $188,000. The identities of over 250 individuals were compromised," the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Cabell worked at the hospital at the time of the conspiracy, between August and October 2009, the government said. Hill was allegedly the ringleader of the scheme.

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When it came to the doctors' identies, Hill allegedly used them to rent apartments, buy things and get services.

"Indeed, shortly before Hill’s arrest, Hill was attempting to rent another apartment in a doctor’s identity because he and Cabell were about to be evicted for non-payment on the apartment they rented in the identity of another doctor," prosecutors said.

If the court accepts Hill's plea, he will be sentenced to 11 years in prison, according to an agreement. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett scheduled his sentencing for 3 p.m. March 18.

Cabell, Coffey and King each face up to 20 years in prison for conspiracy. And they face a mandatory, consecutive sentence of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft, the government said.

Sentencing is at 3 p.m. Feb. 13 for Coffey, at 3 p.m. Feb. 19 for King, and 3 p.m. March 21 for Cabell, it states.

The investigation is part of efforts by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF).


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