Woman gets 18 years for stealing identities

A North Carolina woman was sentenced to 18 years in prison Monday for electronically stealing more than $100,000 and the identities of two residents of a Lincolnshire retirement community.

Before handing down the sentence, Lake County Circuit Court Judge Victoria A. Rossetti rattled off a list of the 33-year-old woman's aliases.

Aretha Antoine, Belinda French and Germaine Aretha Albert Alcock were just a few of the names the defendant has used, she said. The defendant used the surname Williams in court Monday.

There were so many names, Rossetti wasn't sure which -- if any -- was the real one.

"This whole trial … is all about deception," Rossetti said. "This court has no idea who Miss Williams is."

Despite the questions about the defendant's identity, Rossetti didn't hesitate before sending her to prison and demanding more than $28,000 in restitution.

The defendant showed little emotion after her sentence was announced. Led into the courtroom in handcuffs and shackles, she wore a red T-shirt at the defendant's table that indicated she was being held in administrative segregation at the Lake County jail.

Rossetti said this was because of disruptive behavior and other offenses.

"Obviously, this tells me you are not one who can follow rules," Rossetti told the defendant.

The defendant was convicted last month of aggravated identity theft, theft and fraud by wire. She faced up to 30 years in prison.

Working over the phone, she posed as a government employee to get birth dates, Social Security numbers and other personal information from the two Lincolnshire victims. With that data, she transferred money from the victims' bank accounts to her own or converted the funds into prepaid debit cards.

Assistant State's Attorney Brett Henne asked for a 24-year sentence, calling her crimes "the lowest form of criminality."

"She can hide behind a computer from miles away and take and take and take," Henne said.

Assistant Public Defender John Bailey unsuccessfully requested an eight-year sentence. Her only prior run-ins with the law, he said, led to two misdemeanor convictions.

One of the victims, Janet Stein, was in court Monday. After the sentence was handed down, she said she was happy with the punishment.

"I think she deserves it for what she did to me," Stein said. "She really destroyed my life."