District Man Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Aggravated Identity Theft

WASHINGTON - William Steve Ishmell, 52, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced today before the Honorable Henry H. Kennedy, Jr., to a mandatory 24-month period of incarceration following his earlier guilty plea on June 2, 2008, to one count of Aggravated Identity Theft, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor announced.

According to the Statement of Offense filed with the Court by the government, from March 2005 to November 2005, the defendant possessed a fraudulently obtained Virginia driver’s license bearing his photograph and the name of his son, which he used to misrepresent his identity to others. The defendant used this identification, as well as his son’s social security number, in fraudulently seeking money damages from insurance companies in connection with motor vehicle collisions that occurred in the District of Columbia on March 20, 2005, and July 8, 2005. The defendant misrepresented his identity to others at the scenes of these collisions, including a member of the Metropolitan Police Department who responded to the scene of the July 8th collision.

The defendant used his son’s identity in submitting false insurance claims for alleged injuries, damages, and lost wages associated with the March 20th and July 8th collisions. In support of his claims, the defendant submitted to the insurance companies letters bearing the letterhead of Eureka Van & Storage, Co., Inc., falsely stating that the defendant had been employed by Eureka Van & Storage, Co., Inc.; that he had been unable to work for specified periods of time because of injuries allegedly sustained in the motor vehicle collisions on March 20, 2005, and July 8, 2005; and that his lost wages amounted to $3,850 and $735, respectively. In fact, neither the defendant nor his son were employed by Eureka Van & Storage Co., Inc., during the periods claimed to the insurance companies, which paid money to the defendant in settlement of his false claims for damages using the his son’s identifying information, including the fraudulent claims for lost wages.

The defendant’s wife, Donna Jean Ishmell, has pleaded guilty to one count of Wire Fraud for her involvement in this fraud scheme. Her case is pending sentencing.

In announcing today’s sentence, U.S. Attorney Taylor commended Special Agent Robert Werner of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington Field Office, Northern Virginia Resident Agency, who was the lead investigator in the case. He also thanked Postal Inspector Kevin Towers of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Agent Eric Ryan of the U.S. Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, and members of the National Insurance Crime Bureau for assisting in the investigation. U.S. Attorney Taylor also commended the staff of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Legal Assistant April Peeler, Paralegal Jeanie Latimore-Brown, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Zeno and Jonathan Haray, who prosecuted the case.

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