Connecticut Man Convicted to Seven Years in Jail for Identity Theft

Michael Dolan, age 23, could be convicted to seven years in prison after he pleaded guilty on the several phishing charges that have been committed during 2002 - 2006.

Michael Dolan, living in West Haven, Connecticut pleaded guilty for conspiracy in committing identity fraud in aggravating causes, as part of a deal with the United States district attorneys. He admitted that he retained names and details from personal credit cards belonging to a large number of AOL members.

Basically the data that was gathered from the members was their names, addresses, and financial information, meaning the credit card number, the expiration date, and the PIN code.

Dolan used a software application, that was not revealed to the public as a condition imposed by AOL, from public chat locations, after sending trojans to potential victims pretending to be greeting e-mails from Hallmark. The software program was preventing the infected users to log into America Online, with out first being asked to complete a form with personal and financial information. Dolan and his accomplices used the stolen data to make fraudulent on line purchases, also to manufacture fake credit cards in order withdraw money from ATM machines in the United States, pay for gas, or buy different goods from supermarkets.

The size of the fraud that Dolan has committed was not made public yet. The frauds were discovered during several investigations of the West Haven Police Department in collaboration with Earthlink Abuse team. According to the deal he managed to make, Dolan could be convicted to five years in jail for fraud, and two years for identity theft. Also, he is to pay fines up to $250,000 and will be on probation after he is released from prison. The sentence will be pronounced on November 14, in the presence of the judge Alvin W. Thompson.

Dolan was previously released on probation for 2 years, in May 2004, after he pleaded guilty for hacking, but failed to comply with the requirements of the probation period. Basically, after he was released, Dolan made several trips outside Connecticut with out permission, including a trip out side the United States. In April 2006, Dolan was imprisoned again for failing to comply with the requirements of the probation period.

Such trials have a great deal of difficulty because of the way the crimes are performed, especially the ones over the Internet, the gathering of evidence is extremely difficult, and the investigation requires a great deal of funds. Still, the most significant identity theft cases are taken seriously by the police, and the criminals are taken to court.

Source: http://www.first.org