INDICTMENT FOLLOWS FRAUD SCHEME FOR BESSEMER MAN

BIRMINGHAM, AL - Donald Moulton, Sr., 47, was indicted today in U.S. District Court for mail fraud, false statements in loan applications, aggravated identity theft, misuse and false representations of social security numbers. This indictment is announced today by U.S. Attorney Alice H. Martin, Martin Phanco, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Special Agent in Charge and Carmen S. Adams, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Special Agent in Charge.

“In partnership with a new Identity Fraud Task Force you can expect to see more indictments on aggravated identity theft,” stated U.S. Attorney Alice H. Martin.

From July 2003 to September 2004 Moulton engaged in a scheme to defraud American Express in connection with a corporate account he opened in the name of Magic City, Inc. In support of that application, Moulton submitted a corporate tax return purporting to document the financial condition of Magic City. That document was false and fraudulent, and in fact had never been filed with the Internal Revenue Service. From August 2003 until September 2004, Moulton incurred in excess of $200,000 in charges on the account.

During that same time period, Moulton is also charged with making repeated false representations about his social security number for the purpose of realizing financial gain. He sought mortgage loans on parcels of real property located in Birmingham, Alabama, from RBMG, Inc., and on a separate occasion from Wachovia Mortgage Corporation. As to the latter, Moulton is also charged with aggravated identity theft because he used the identity of another person while making the application to Wachovia.

“Investigators within the banking and credit industry are alert for fraudulent activity and eventually the trail leads to the identification of fraudsters.” stated Carmen S. Adams, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation. “We are fully committed to the investigation of white collar crimes in the Northern District of Alabama."

Moulton now faces three to thirty years in federal prison and fines of $250,000 for each of the eight counts charged.

The investigation of this matter was conducted special agents from the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney William C. Athanas is prosecuting the matter on behalf of the U.S. Government.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.