Abigail Payton, a 30-year-old Kentucky woman, has been sentenced to 42 months in federal prison for using multiple false identities to steal nearly $74,000 from two credit unions and a bank, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Jacksonville, Fla.
Chief U.S. District Judge Maria Morales Howard also ordered Payton to pay $73,817 in restitution during a sentencing hearing last month.
Payton pleaded guilty to two felony counts of bank fraud and two felony counts of aggravated identity theft last November.
On Sept. 6, 2023, Payton opened a checking and savings account using a fake identity of a Texas resident at a Jacksonville branch of the $3.1 billion Community First Credit Union. About a month later, using that phony ID, she applied online for a $35,000 loan, which the credit union approved.
Three days later on Sept. 9, Payton opened another checking and savings account using a fake identity of a Georgia resident at a Jacksonville branch of Community First. Two days later, on Sep. 11, she applied online for a $25,000 loan, which was also approved.
By the time Community First became aware of the fraud, Payton had spent or withdrawn in cash $38,769, according to federal prosecutors.
In November 2023, Payton used the identities of two other persons to open checking and savings accounts at Fort Lauderdale branches of the $9.2 billion Space Coast Credit Union based in Melbourne, Fla. By December, she attempted to cash a $1,500 check and a $2,000 check made payable to herself from the Space Coast accounts, but the checks were not processed because of insufficient funds.
Court documents also showed Payton opened another bank account at Truist Bank under a phony ID and took out a $25,000 loan. She also opened an additional bank account with a false ID in the amount of $10,000 at the $2.9 billion Arrowhead Credit Union in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., according to court documents. The loss to Truist Bank was $25,000 and the loss to Arrowhead was $10,057.
Peter Strozniak can be reached at peter.strozniak@arc-network.com.
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