Anchorage Insurance Sales Woman Arrested on Charges of Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft
Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced that an Anchorage woman has been taken into custody today on charges of two counts of Bank Fraud and two counts of Aggravated Identity Theft.
Kara Hayden, Jr., 50, of Anchorage, is charged in a four-count indictment with a scheme to obtain money from banks through fraudulent pretenses using personal information of former insurance clients to obtain credit cards.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Aunnie Steward, who presented the case against Kara Hayden to the grand jury, from at least October 2014 to December 2015, Hayden applied for seventeen credit cards using the names, social security numbers, and dates of birth of nine different victims without their knowledge or authorization. Hayden successfully obtained two credit cards before the investigation of this case interrupted her scheme. The two credit cards were obtained using the personal identifying information of three of her former insurance clients. Hayden obtained approximately $14,500 in cash and retail goods prior to the discovery of her scheme.
The law provides for a maximum sentence of 30 years’ incarceration and a $1 million fine or both.
Under federal sentencing statutes, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
“Postal Inspectors worked closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Alaska State Troopers on this investigation,” said Seattle Division Inspector in Charge Anthony Galetti of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “We take identity theft and the violation of customers’ trust very seriously and will continue to vigorously protect the U.S. Mail and customers against all forms of criminal attack and misuse.”
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, assisted by the Alaska State Troopers, conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in the case.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
