A federal judge sentenced a Phoenix man to more than 5 years in prison Wednesday for misusing social security numbers and addresses to obtain credit cards and launder more than $760,000.
James J. Rose, 46, pleaded guilty on April 24 to conspiracy to commit promotional money laundering. Using fictitious names, Rose used more than 800 social security numbers and 250 credit cards from 15 different banks to obtains funds — more than $760,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Phoenix.
Authorities said Rose owned a credit reporting company in California in the early 1990s called American Mortgage Services, Inc. (AMS). Mortgage brokers used the service to obtain credit reports for their customers.
Rose kept copies of credit reports, later using social security numbers from the reports to create fictitious identities. He and several others, who weren’t named in a press release, established credit histories for the fictitious people by creating false businesses, as well as credit accounts and employment histories for them.
He used these histories to obtain credit cards. All in all, Rose used more than 200 addresses in 14 states for the purpose.
To give the businesses legitimacy, Rose rented business suites and apartments in several states under the companies’ names. Rose then used the business accounts to pay the expenses of his operation, to conceal funds moving money between accounts, and for personal expenses.
Rose was also able to obtain a credit card machine, which he used to swipe his many credit cards for fake purchases. Authorities said Rose recruited other individuals to pick up mail, cash checks, set up phone lines, rent apartments, file and mail documents and apply for credit cards all to support his operation.
