California Scammer Masterminds $476,000 Bank Fraud Scheme Using 16 Fake Driver’s Licenses

A man from Shasta County, California has admitted to orchestrating a financial scam using stolen identities and fake documents.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of California says James Raymond Hanes obtained the personally identifiable information of certain individuals to produce at least 16 counterfeit driver’s licenses that bear his photo but use someone else’s identity.

He then used the victims’ names to secure more than $476,000 in vehicle loans and purchase cars from dealerships across Northern California that he later resold to associates and unsuspecting buyers.

The 61-year-old Hanes was indicted in October last year following an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Redding Police Department. 

Reads the court document filed on May 14th,

“The government has represented that the discovery associated with this case includes over 8,000 pages of financial documentation, investigative reports, photographs, and other documentary evidence. In addition, there is extensive electronic evidence in the case.”

Hanes pleaded guilty to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft on June 29th. Senior U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb is scheduled to issue the sentence on October 13th. 

He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison, a $1 million in fine for the crime of bank fraud and a mandatory consecutive statutory penalty of two years behind bars for aggravated identity theft.

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